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Characteristics of 18fl war¬
lords have been simulated
based on the renowned
text of SanquozM Yanyi,
Even 20th century
strategists are destined lo
Spend hours,, even days on
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Editor

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Fiction editor
Barbara G. Young

Assistant editor
Dale A. Donovan

Art director
Larry W. Smith

Production staff
Gaye O'Keefe Angelika Lokotz
Tracey Zamagne

Subscriptions
Janet L. Winters

U.S. advertising
Roseann Schnering

U.K. correspondent
and U.K. advertising
Sue Lilley

Issue # 164
Vol. XV, No. 7
December 1990

ON'CEN'CS

41
4 7
58

104

Special attractions
Return to the Orient

Flying Feet and Lightning Hands — Len Carpenter

Add scissors kicks and double-fist punches to your martial-arts

repertoire.

Things Your Sensei Never Taught You — Rudy Thauberger
Create a martial-arts style that will really knock 'em out!

Bonds of Brotherhood — Tom Griffith

Monks can break boards, but can they change the world? If they work
together, yes.

Born to Defend — Joseph R. Ravitts

The piao shih: a guardian character for Oriental AD&D® games.

Other features

The Voyage of the Princess Ark — Bruce A. Heard
The Princess comes home—but 34 years too late.

The Role of Computers — Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser
Mega Traveller 1 opens the doors to the role-playing galaxy.

Arcane Lore — Ed Greenwood

Pages From the Mages, part VI: in which Elminster reinvents the
flying boat.

Role-playing Reviews — Jim Bambra

Forget humans, elves, and dwarves: Role-play trolls, centaurs,

sphinxes, and giants instead!

The Mechanics of the Iron Cobra — Spike Y. Jones
A devoted machine always follows its last order, no matter who gives it.

“What has he got in his pocketses, anyway?” — Ed Greenwood
Have your thief find adventure in the next pocket he picks.

Novel Ideas — Theresa Hickey

A new trilogy about a man, his army, and the fall of the civilized
world.

Through the Looking Glass — Robert Bigelow

Should the possession of lead miniatures be a crime? It might be soon!

Departments

5 Letters 36 Forum 94 Dragonmirth

6 Editorial 84 Convention Calendar 96 Twilight Empire

32 Sage Advice 86 TSR Previews 100 Gamers Guide

COVER

Teenage swamp-dwelling ninja zombies—who could ask for more? Jim Holloway
leads us off on another Oriental adventure with a cover painting that was turned in
so quickly, he couldn't think of a name for it. We like it anyway. We were informed
that the clothing and weapons in this scene are in authentic styles (down to the
eyepatch), so Jim did his homework as usual.

4 DECEMBER 1990

What did you think of this issue? Do you have
a question about an article or have an idea for a
new feature you’d like to see? In the United
States and Canada, write to: Letters, DRAGON®
Magazine, P.O. Box 111, Lake Geneva WI 53147,
U.SA. In Europe, write to: Letters, DRAGON
Magazine, TSR Ltd., 120 Church End, Cherry
Hinton, Cambridge CB1 3LD, United Kingdom.

No, we are not...

Dear Sirs and Madames,

I would like to introduce myself as a second-
year student at Winnipeg Bible College. I’m
taking a course called World Religions n. In this
course, an assignment is to compile a file of the
different religions of North America.

Since your organization belongs to this cate¬
gory, I hope that you will see fit to send me
some literature, brochures, or other informa¬
tion about your organization. . . . Thank you for
your aid in completing this assignment and
helping me to broaden my knowledge about this
very essential aspect of life.

Name withheld by editor
Winnipeg Bible College
Otterburne, Manitoba

In late September and early October of this
year, I found in my stack of mail five different
letters from Bible college students in Manitoba;
each was much like the above letter, asking for
information on "your particular religious organi¬
zation" (i.e., TSR, Inc.). I've received a letter like
the above in the past, from someone who was
taking a course on world religions at some
unidentified school. This was the first big flood
of such requests, however, in recent memory

I've responded to all of the Manitoba students
in writing, and here I'd like to repeat some of
what I said to them:

I read your request for information with great
interest and some confusion, amusement, and
anger. I haven't the vaguest idea of how TSR,

Inc. came to be known as a religious organiza¬
tion, and I find the idea both silly and irksome.
But I can set you straight on some basic facts, at
least as I see them.

TSR, Inc. is a company devoted to producing
games, books, and otlter entertainment
products. This company does not advocate any
particular religious belief. Its sole purpose is to
create recreational materials to make money. If
you were to spend a few minutes investigating
TSR's product line, you would be certain to
come to exactly the same conclusion.

I strongly believe that you should investigate
your own sources of information as to what
TSR, Inc.'s purpose is. I assume that, as stu¬
dents, your goals in life are to investigate, to
learn, to understand, and to take your discov¬
eries and apply that knowledge to your own
lives. If you do decide to find out why TSR, Inc.
is listed as a "religion" in whatever resource you
are using, please inform me of the results. I
would greatly appreciate hearing from you. We
all may benefit from learning the truth.

Get some class!

Dear Dragon:

I may have been reading DRAGON Magazine
for only a couple of issues, but can I ask this:
Where are the scenarios? Additional character
classes? Campaign cities and countries? We don’t
all have huge, long-running campaigns. If you
say you don’t have the space, I’m sure you’d find
a few things to get rid of. If not, I don’t mind
paying more. The usual reply to that is: “Get
another magazine!” but I like the interesting
articles and short stories in DRAGON Magazine.

I just think that if you add some of these things,
you would make your magazine even better.

Paul C. M. Wilson
Alloway, Ayr, Great Britain

We publish scenarios for the AD&D® and
D&D® games in DUNGEON® Adventures, our
bimonthly module magazine; see the advertise¬
ment and subscription card in this issue for
details on ordering it. We don't have a lot of
room to publish all-new campaign cities and
countries in DRAGON Magazine (DUNGEON
Adventures often has those, however).

However, as for new cltaracter classes, we can
certainly help you out. We ran a list of all of the
unusual AD&D 1st Edition game character
classes published in this magazine in "Letters" in
issue #161, and we even had another new class
in that issue: the scout.

If anyone is interested in creating a new
character class for the AD&D 1st Edition game
for publication, please keep the following guide¬
lines in mind:

1. The class must make sense, and there
should be a good reason for it to exist within a
campaign setting. Give a solid background that
tells how the class came about (making the text
generic enough to be used in almost any cam¬
paign world), and make the background and
class explanations logical and clear. If the class's
functions could be duplicated by an existing
character class with a few spells and skills, then
it is redundant.

2. The class should be complete. Make sure
the class description covers these areas: permit¬
ted races and alignments; level limits; limits on
primary characteristics (strength, intelligence,
etc., including ability scores required for bo¬
nuses to experience points, if allowed); allowa¬
ble armor, shields, weapons (including oil and
poison), and magical items; combat information
(to-hit and saving-throw tables used, attacks per
round, and weapons proficiency data); non¬
weapon proficiency data (including special
nonmagical skills); henchmen and hirelings; an
experience-point table covering level titles, hit
dice, level limits, spell use, etc.; all spells cast
(with new spells explained); and all other special
tables, charts, and class information as required.
Magical powers, new abilities and disabilities,
unique magical items used, and role-playing
notes should also be present.

Continued on page 7

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ISSN 0279-6848

DRAGON 5

Editorial

What you are
in the dark*

Most people are content to play an
AD&D® or D&D® game and enjoy it with¬
out fiddling with that sense of enjoyment,
but once in a while someone will get the
urge to so fiddle, and will start to ask
questions like, "Why does Bob play only
halflings?" "Why does Jane like to play
male characters so much?" "What's Pete's
thing about thieves?"

What the questioner hopes to learn are
all the deep, dark secrets that make up
Bob, Jane, and Pete's personalities, that
explain why they prefer playing certain
fantasy character types. Does Bob have a
weak or childlike self image? Does Jane
have sex-role confusion? Is Pete actually
an untrustworthy guy?

I've played this little mind game on nu¬
merous occasions, and after years of infor¬
mal research I can report that I am a
terrible guesser at people's real motives in
doing almost anything. People very often
do have specific reasons for playing cer¬
tain character types—but if you're fishing
for deep, dark secrets, you're going to be
frequently disappointed.

People play the roles that they find most
comfortable. Certain aspects of these roles
appeal to them a lot, and the connections
may be interesting but they are hardly
deep and dark. Some people choose roles
because those roles offer challenges, like
turning a halfling into a dangerous fighter,
or a thief into a skilled survivalist. Some
choose roles for even more basic reasons
related to game mechanics or mood
quirks.

For example, I like playing fighters but
dislike wizards. My reasons are pretty
simple: I find wizards to be too compli¬
cated to play. I can never keep track of all
their spells nor remember how best to use
them in different situations. Fighters, on
the other hand, are uncomplicated and
direct. I like intelligent fighters who im¬
provise attacks and defenses using basic
weapons and materials, but who carry
little magical or spell-casting equipment.

(In fact, if I play a cleric, I play him exactly
like a fighter, using his spells as an after¬
thought or as combat support). Humans
and half-ogres are my favorite races be¬
cause they fight so well; Vikings are my
favorite character culture for similar
reasons.

I also like gnomes, who quickly de¬

velop exaggerated, comic personalities. If
I'm in the mood to be obnoxious and silly
during a game. I'll run a gnome like
Cyragnome DeBergerac, who insults ev¬
eryone and speaks with a horrible French
accent (courtesy of Monty Python and the
Holy Grail), or Bluto Arglebargle Dorfman
III (actually a dwarf, but who cares), who
is modelled somewhat on John Belushi's
character in Animal House.

Anyone who knows me knows that I am
not a fighter in real life; I was in the Army

for five years, but as a mental-health coun¬
selor. I keep in good shape at a local YMCA
but am not remarkably strong, and I don't
keep weapons of any kind. As a general
rule. I'm also not especially disruptive or
obnoxious (nor short like a gnome). But I
love the chance to be someone that I am
not, and role-playing games give me that
chance.

I know many other people who feel the
same way. One friend of mine, a doctor
and fantasy writer, loves playing thieves;

6 DECEMBER 1990

she is also one of the most scrupulously
honest and trustworthy people I know.
Another friend, a military officer, played
halfling thieves because they could get
away with so much by being cute (this
seems to be a major rationale for playing
halfling thieves, at least in my experience).
The few people I recall who played rigid,
hard-driving, no-nonsense paladins were
fairly relaxed (and even carefree) in their
day-to-day lives. I've heard that some
people are attracted to kender from the
DRAGONLANCE® saga for their disruptive
and thrill-seeking characteristics, and I
imagine that these people (whom you
would dearly love to throttle during an
adventure) are probably fairly placid oth¬
erwise. (If they aren't, they should be
shot.)

Playing opposite-sex characters is fun
for the same reason: You can be someone
you are not. I've noticed that many
opposite-sex characters have high cha¬
risma and comeliness scores, so maybe
something else is at work here—but I'm
the last one who would know about that.

There are similarities between charac¬
ters and players, of course—how could
there not be?— and these are interesting as
well. I'm not as disruptive as Cyragnome
DeBergerac, but I love to keep people
amused and entertained, as does he. The
halfling character of the military officer
quickly took on leadership and command

responsibilities in the bogus religious
organization he had started. Some paladin
players have struck me as unusually moti¬
vated and dedicated to their jobs, and the
doctor/writer enjoys doses of excitement
in her life, much like her adventurous
thieves.

The pages of "Forum" have seen numer¬
ous battles over why evil characters are
good or bad for you; I suspect that, again,
many people love playing evil characters
because it's a chance to take on roles that
the players are not normally like. Many
otherwise "lawful" people also prefer
chaotic characters for the chance to break
rules and be unrestricted.

What character types do you like best,
and why do you like them? What charac¬
ter types do you dislike most, and why?
Maybe this would be a good topic for the
"Forum" column. Get out your typewriter
or pen, and let's see what character type
makes a role-playing game click for you.
(Non-fantasy entries are welcome, too.)

* From the saying, "Character is what you are in
the dark" (courtesy of Dr. Emilio Lizardo, The
Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai).

Letters

Continued from page 5

3. The class should be balanced for game play
if it is meant to be a player clmracter class,
though as an NPC class it might be particularly
dangerous (as were the berserker, death master,
ninja, and witch) or weak (as were the scribe
and astrologer). Playtest the class as often as
possible to work out any unclear or poor¬
playing areas.

4. The class should be reasonably simple and
preferably short, coming to about 20 typed,
double-spaced pages at most. In our experience,
spell-casting classes are of necessity longer than
others as they include descriptions of new
spells, which is still a point against them (we
don't have a lot of space to use per article).

We've seen a lot ofAD&D 1st Edition game
character classes in our time, but we are still
open to printing more; they are quite popular,
as our mail indicates.

We are also open to new AD&D 2nd Edition
game character kits, as per the four-part Com¬
plete Handbook series for the four major
classes. We leave it to you, the readers, to use
your creativity and surprise us all.

THE RE-LAUNCHING OF

AZING

STORIES

The world's oldest science
fiction magazine ...

BEGINS IN MAY 1991

DRAGON 7

Fill out and mail the subscription card in this issue.

if the card Is missing, write to:

s Lihscr f p tl ons: tsr Ltd. su bscr Ipt Ions

D RACON tMagazsne 120 church End

RO. Box 111 Cherry Hinton

Lake Geneva, wi 53147 Cambridge cbi 3L0
united Kingdom

DRAGON FS 3 tidemark Of TSR, IfiC. 1990 TSR, Inc. All Rights deserved.

M*Cfk by Barry Oftm

□n^j&ON 9

Flying Feet and
Lightning Hands

Special maneuvers for Oriental Adventures martial arts

by Len Carpenter

The martial-arts system is one of the
finest features of the AD&D® 1st Edition
Oriental Adventures book, but it can still
benefit from more variety. Presented
herein are new special maneuvers that
may be introduced into martial-arts styles
in the campaign.

Some of these new maneuvers expand
existing categories into more advanced
special maneuvers, such as the Scissors
Kick and Crushing Drop. A second mental
and physical training category is added to
give the DM more choices in the maneu¬
vers that may make up a martial style.
Three of the new special maneuvers pre¬
sented here were mentioned in previous
articles on the sumo wrestler and new
martial-arts styles for the AD&D game:
Crushing Hug (issue #157, page 351, Arrow
Cutting (issue #127, page 55), and Flowing
Water (issue #127, page 50). They are
repeated here in the list of new special
maneuvers for easy reference.

These new special maneuvers should be
introduced into the campaign gradually,
especially the more advanced maneuvers.
Some of these new maneuvers may be
tacked onto existing styles, and others may
be used to form new martial styles in the
campaign. Others might be cherished
techniques jealously guarded by martial-
arts masters who are reluctant to pass
them on to player-character students.

Sumo wrestlers will certainly not be keen
on teaching the Crushing Hug maneuver
to non-sumotori.

New special maneuvers should not be
made available to PCs without careful
consideration by the DM. Some special
maneuvers are best suited for NPC martial
artists. A PC's first experience with a new
maneuver should often be at the hands —
or feet—of an NPC antagonist. These ma¬
neuvers may add new thrills to an Oriental
campaign without being toys for player
characters to exploit.

Below are the new special maneuvers,
followed by an explanation of each maneu¬

ver. The list continues the information
given in Table 70, on page 103 of Oriental
Adventures.

Kick

4. Scissors Kick (hard/soft)

Lock

5. Crushing Hug (hard)

Strike

4. Double-fist Punch (hard/soft)

Throw

5. Crushing Drop (hard)

Weapon

4. Arrow Cutting (soft)

5. Throwing Mastery (hard/soft)

Mental and Physical Training

7. Slowed Aging (soft)

Mental and Physical Training II (new)

1. Light Step (soft)

2. Controlled Breathing (soft)

3. Pause and Silence (hard/soft)

4. Quick Strike (hard/soft)

5. Flowing Water (soft)

6. Resuscitation (soft)

7. Suppressed Desire (soft)

DRAGON 1 1

Scissors Kick: This extremely difficult
kick enables a martial artist to leap up¬
ward and deliver powerful head or upper-
body kicks to two separate targets
simultaneously. The two targets must be
within 6' of each other for both targets to
be attacked. Each attack is made at -2 to
hit. A successful kick does normal martial-
arts damage. If the attacker misses both
targets, he loses his next melee attack
while he tries to regain his footing and
balance. This maneuver works well with
styles similar to tae kwan do.

Crushing Hug: This maneuver is used
primarily by sumo wrestlers but may be
permitted for other martial-arts styles if
the DM so decides. This maneuver is a
powerful bear-hug hold that inflicts 3-30
hp damage per round until the victim is
slain or breaks free. The held character
may break the hold by making a success¬
ful to-hit roll at -4. An unsuccessful
Crushing Hug results in a -4 penalty to
the martial artist's next attack roll. The
martial artist employing the hold must be
strong and massive, having a minimum
strength of 16 and a minimum weight of
250 lbs.

Double-Fist Punch: This strike is a
two-fisted attack aimed to land simultane¬
ous blows to two separate targets on a
single opponent. Each such punch is deliv¬
ered at -1 to hit on its attack roll. Each
punch that lands scores normal damage. If
both blows land, then the defender must
save vs. paralyzation roll at -4 or else
suffer a stun or incapacitation result as
explained on page 105 of Oriental Adven¬
tures, as if the martial artist rolled a natu¬
ral 20 on an attack. After the -4 penalty
is applied to the saving throw, the result is
compared to the hit dice or level of the
defender to see if a stun or incapacitation
is the result of the failed save. If the result
is a stun, the defender is stunned for 2-12
rounds. If the result is incapacitation, the
character is incapacitated for 1-3 hours.

If the Double-Fist Punch is aimed at the
opponent's head and torso, the maneuver
is called a U-Punch or Parallel Punch. If
the blows are aimed at the front and back
of the opponent, the maneuver is known
as a Scissors Punch.

Crushing Drop: With this throw,
instead of just throwing the opponent a

certain distance, the opponent is dropped
to the ground, head and shoulders first,
with crushing force. On a successful at¬
tack roll, the foe is thrown 1-2' away from
the thrower. The thrown character suffers
double damage from the drop, and, unless
a save vs. paralyzation roll is made, the
character is knocked unconscious for 2-8
rounds. If the attack is unsuccessful, the
attacker is instead thrown to the ground
and automatically loses initiative for the
next round while he regains his feet.

Arrow Cutting: This maneuver is
similar to the Missile Deflection (Move¬
ment 4) maneuver, but the art of Arrow
Cutting requires the use of a martial-arts
weapon to block or deflect missile attacks.
If the martial artist attempts to block a
missile attack without the use of a martial-
arts weapon he has studied, the attempt is
made at -4 on the saving throw. Monks
automatically possess this skill as part of
their Missile Deflection ability.

Missile weapons caught or trapped by
the martial artist's weapon may often be
used by the character. A blocked shuriken
may be pried free from a bo stick and
thrown back at the attacker, or a spear
may be caught in the chain of a nunchaku
and saved for future use. One melee
round must be spent in prying free any
missile weapon caught in the martial-arts
weapon.

Throwing Mastery: This demanding
skill enables the character to throw a
martial-arts weapon not normally consid¬
ered a missile weapon. The weapons that
may be thrown with this skill are: fang,
jitte, jo stick, kiseru, nunchaku, sai,
siangkam, and tonfa. All such weapons
have the same range as a thrown dagger.
The weapon does normal damage when it
strikes. A master of this art may throw a
sai with the ability of a skilled knife-
thrower, or toss a bo stick like a light club.

Slowed Aging: Through various exer¬
cises and exotic breathing techniques, the
character slows down his own aging proc¬
ess as if he were wearing a phylactery of
long years.

Light Step: The martial artist possess¬
ing this ability is able to walk with a
feather-light step. When moving at one-
half his normal movement rate, the mar¬
tial artist is able to walk with the effect of

a pass without trace spell.

Controlled Breathing: The martial
artist has studied intensive breathing
exercises that allow him to relax his mind
and body and moderate his body's other
functions. The martial artist gains a +2
bonus to save vs. all forms of fear. The
martial artist also acts as if under the
effect of a permanent endure cold/heat
spell because the technique enables him to
moderate his body temperature.

Pause and Silence: When using this
skill, the martial artist gives up one
martial-arts attack to pause and study his
opponent. The martial artist makes an
ordinary attack roll; success indicates the
martial artist has found a weakness in his
opponent's style and thus gains a +1
bonus on all attack rolls against that par¬
ticular opponent for the duration of the
melee. Failing the Pause and Silence attack
roll bestows no penalty other than the loss
of a melee attack. The character may
perform this maneuver as many times as
he wishes, but once the weakness is found
in the opponent's style, repeated attempts
do not improve the attack bonus above
+1. If the same opponent is fought again
in a different melee, the +1 bonus is not
gained automatically. The Pause and Si¬
lence maneuver must be tried anew to
find an opponent's weakness.

Quick Strike: This maneuver bestows a
+1 bonus to all initiative rolls made by the
martial artist. Since kensai already possess
this ability at 1st level, they are unable to
improve their initiative bonus any further
by taking this special maneuver.

Flowing Water: This maneuver was
presented as a variation of the Ironskin
maneuver in issue #127, but is repeated
here as a new maneuver unto itself. This
maneuver improves the martial artist's
armor class by +2 through great speed,
agility, and evasion techniques.

Resuscitation: The martial artist with
this skill is able to resuscitate a semicon¬
scious or unconscious person by stimulat¬
ing the body with gentle taps to spinal
nerve centers. The martial artist is able to
awaken a person who is stunned or para¬
lyzed by a martial-arts attack if the martial
artist makes a successful dexterity check
on ld20. The martial artist can also revive
an unconscious or incapacitated person by
making a dexterity check on ld20 with a
+ 2 penalty. This maneuver requires one
melee round to perform on a single per¬
son. This martial skill is sometimes known
in the Orient as katsu.

Suppressed Desire: This special ma¬
neuver is similar to a minor psionic disci¬
pline in the AD&D 1st Edition game, mind
over body (Players Handbook, page 113).
The martial artist is able to suppress the
need for food, water, rest, or sleep for a
period of time of two consecutive days for
every level of experience of the martial
artist. After using this ability, the charac¬
ter must spend an equal number of days
in rest and peaceful meditation to recover
the ability to use this maneuver again. fl

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Things Your Sensei
Never Taught You

Add some kick to Oriental Adventures martial arts

Creating martial-arts styles for AD&D®
1st Edition Oriental Adventures campaigns
can be tricky. Too often, created styles are
bland, one-dimensional shopping lists of
special maneuvers. Ideally, a style should
have a life of its own, some qualities that
make it unique and allow it to fit into the
social and historical context from which it
developed. This article provides a few
suggestions for rounding out created
styles, including a number of new special
maneuvers.

Fleshing out a style is not as difficult as
it sounds. There is no need to detail centu¬
ries of history and tradition in order to
create an interesting style. A few notes on
the aesthetics, social background, and
availability of the style will do.

Start by imagining what the style looks
like. Picture the style in general aesthetic
terms. Unless you are very familiar with

by Rudy Thauberger

martial arts, don't worry too much about
specific visual details. Concentrate on the
feelings the style evokes. Is it an extrava¬
gant and showy style, or is it simple and
ruthlessly efficient? Is it fast-paced and
reckless, or slow and deliberate? Is the
style well-respected for its beauty and its
simplicity, or is it considered ugly and
crude? Keep in mind that the popularity of
a style varies from region to region and
from era to era. A style can be considered
old fashioned in one province and be
revered for its tradition in another.

To add character to a style, decide what
social class it originates from. Since the
average peasant would have little time to
devote to martial arts, common peasant
styles would be simple and practical, with
few special maneuvers. Noble or courtly
styles, on the other hand, would be more
complex and artistic, valued as much for

their aesthetic qualities as for their practi¬
cal applications.

Character classes as well as social classes
may develop their own styles. Yakuza and
ninja would almost certainly have their
own special, secret styles. Certain styles
might be preferred by wu jen or by samu¬
rai. Geisha, archers, actors, carpenters—
any of these groups might develop its own
martial-arts style.

Defining the background of a style nec¬
essarily involves putting restrictions on
the degree of access characters have to
specific styles. Commoners will have diffi¬
culty finding teachers of noble styles, just
as nobles resist learning styles favored by
peasants. In addition, styles will tend to
vary in availability within a social class,
depending upon a character's location and
the fashion of the times. Some styles will
be common, with several masters in every

14 DECEMBER 1990

province. Other styles will be rare, with
perhaps only one or two living masters
who are usually difficult to find. A few
styles may even be legends or myths.

To further clarify the background of a
created style, attach to it a common, arti¬
san, or (in the case of noble style) court
proficiency. These proficiencies should
involve mechanical skills that require
discipline, such as weaving, pottery, dance,
or origami. Practice of these skills helps to
focus and discipline the mind and body of
the character, preparing him to learn the
martial art itself. The proficiency can be
considered a prerequisite for learning the
style, or it can be acquired as a part of the
martial-arts training, free of charge. This
procedure has the added benefit of forc¬
ing those players solely interested in
spending their proficiency slots on martial
arts to acquire more practical skills.

To keep things interesting, make some of
your martial-arts styles unique by includ¬
ing your own special maneuvers. This
should be done with care. A good special
maneuver should not be more powerful
than a good first- or second-level spell.
Saving throws should be plentiful, and
particularly powerful maneuvers should
have bad or at least awkward conse¬
quences if they fail, although nothing too
severe.

Finally, you have to choose a name for
the style. This name naturally should be
tied to some aspect of the style's back¬
ground, evoking its appearance, social
class, or both. A name should be descrip¬
tive. Oriental Adventures suggests animals
as role models for styles. Other possible
role models include mythical beasts (like
dragons), forces of nature (e.g., wind, rain,
lightning), or even articles of clothing
(imagine a "kimono" style).

Once the style has been named and its
background created, list the details in
rough form alongside the style's special
maneuvers and weapons, using categories
like appearance, social background, avail¬
ability, and so on. List the mental discipline
(proficiency) that has been assigned to the
style as well. Here are three examples to
show how this system works.

Tin Hat

Appearance: Rough, simple, practical
Social background: Developed by peasant
farmers, popular with bushi
Availability: Very common in all areas
Mental discipline: Cooking (preparation,
patience)

Pen and Ink

Appearance: Graceful, precise, beautiful
Social background: A nobleman's style
Availability: Uncommon among the nobil¬
ity, very rare among the lower classes
Mental discipline: Calligraphy (style, ap¬
pearance)

Howling Monkey

Appearance: Outrageous, humorous
Social background: Developed by traveling
entertainers

Availability: Rare in all areas
Mental discipline: Juggling (coordination,
quickness)

New special maneuvers

A note of caution: Some of these maneu¬
vers, particularly those under the catego¬
ries of Blunt and Slash, are very powerful.
DMs may wish to restrict access to these
maneuvers if they decide to allow their
use at all.

Slash maneuvers are a subclass of
weapon maneuvers. They can be per¬
formed only with hand-held edged weap¬
ons, such as daggers or swords. The
character must select a specific weapon
for his slash maneuvers and can perform
the maneuvers with that weapon only. If
the character wishes to perform Slash
maneuvers with other weapons, the ma¬
neuvers must be studied again.

Blunt maneuvers are designed for
staves, clubs, and blunt martial-arts weap¬
ons, such as the tui-fa (hands and feet do
not count). These maneuvers can be ap¬
plied to only one weapon at a time, as per
Slash maneuvers.

Maneuvers placed in already existing
categories are listed according to the num¬
ber they would receive if added to the
existing maneuvers described in Oriental
Adventures, page 103, Table 70. (This
system is also used in the article "Flying
Feet and Lightning Hands," in this issue, as
well as in previous articles; thus some
maneuvers will have the same number.)

Kick

4. Double Kick (hard/ soft)

Movement

8. Featherwalk (soft)

9. Great Shield (hard/soft)

Push

4. Reflection (soft)

Strike

4. Thunderpunch (hard)

5. Thunderclap (hard/soft)

Vital Area

5. Shattertouch (soft)

Mental and Physical Training

7. Stillness (soft)

8. Balance (soft)

9. Summon Strength (soft)

10. Contortion (soft)

Slash

1. Blind (hard/soft)

2. Vein (hard/soft)

3. Artery (hard/soft)

Blunt

1. Heavy Blow (hard)

2. Limb Paralysis (hard)

3. Stunning Blow (hard)

4. Great Blow (hard)

Double Kick: With a single movement
using one foot, the attacker may strike
two opponents at once, providing that
both are within range at the same time.
One to-hit roll is made and must be suffi¬
cient to strike the opponent with the low¬
est (best) armor class. If the attack roll
misses either opponent, the kick fails
utterly and the attacker loses all his
actions in the next round. This attack does
normal damage to both opponents.

Featherwalk: A character using
Featherwalk is able to cross any surface
capable of supporting his weight, moving in
complete silence. He also subtracts 25%
from an opponent's ability to track him. This
maneuver requires concentration and allows
only half the normal rate of movement.

Great Shield: When using Great Shield,
the martial artist bursts into a frenzy of
activity, blocking or deflecting blows and
missiles with complete success. Up to three
attacks per round can be deflected, plus an
additional attack per level of mastery. This
maneuver lasts one round per level of mas¬
tery, during which the character can neither
attack nor move from the spot where he is
standing. Great Shield works only against
blows from bipedal creatures less than 10' in
height (e.g., snakes, giants, and dragons are
not affected).

Reflection: This maneuver, which must
be declared at the start of a combat round,
allows the martial artist to turn the force
of a blow back upon his opponent, pro¬
vided the opponent's blow is delivered
with a blunt weapon (this includes hands
and feet, of course). The opponent's attack
roll is automatically successful, and he
rolls damage normally. If the martial artist
using Reflection then makes a successful
attack roll in return, all damage is redi¬
rected away from the martial artist back
to the opponent, or even toward another
adversary within striking distance. An
unsuccessful attack roll results in the
martial artist taking normal damage from
the blow.

Thunderpunch: This strike, which is
the only action possible in the round in
which it is used, does triple normal dam¬
age and forces the opponent to save vs.
breath weapon or be stunned for 1-6
rounds. A miss leaves the attacker unable
to attack or defend for one round.

Thunderclap: Martial artists using this
maneuver clap their hands together with
great force, duplicating the effect of an
elemental burst (air) spell (Oriental Adven¬
tures, page 75). Items made of glass or
pottery within 10' of the martial artist
must save versus crushing blow or be
shattered.

Shattertouch: With a light touch, the
martial artist locates flaws in wood or
stone after one round of concentrated
study. With a single blow in the following
round, the material may be shattered if
the martial artist makes a saving throw vs.
paralyzation (failure leaves the material
unharmed but does 2-8 hp damage to the
martial artist). Up to one cubic foot of

16 DECEMBER 1990

material may be affected.

Stillness: Requiring great discipline.
Stillness allows the character to remain
utterly motionless for one hour per level
of mastery. Characters using this ability
are 80% undetectable if some cover is
available. The transition from a still state
to an active one is instantaneous. With the
proper makeup, the martial artist could
easily pass for a mannequin or painted
statue.

Balance: This maneuver improves the
martial artist's sense of balance, giving him
a 20% chance of walking tightropes plus
5% per level of mastery (ninja simply add
5% per level). The character can also gain
perfect balance, temporarily, after a round
of concentration. This perfect balance
lasts for two to five turns and improves
the character's chance to walk tightropes
to 100%. With perfect balance, he can also
carry large awkward objects on the tip of
a finger, balance on one hand, or walk on
both hands at half normal speed.

Summon Strength: After one round
of concentration, the character can in¬
crease his strength to 18/00 for 1-4
rounds. One turn of rest is required imme¬
diately afterward.

Contortion: Those characters who
have studied Contortion have achieved the
ultimate in flexibility. They can fit their
bodies into spaces as small as four cubic
feet or through holes as tiny as 12" in
diameter. This maneuver can also be used
to slip out of bonds or shackles with a 90%
chance of success. One turn of concentra¬
tion is required before attempting a feat,
and one turn of rest is required afterward.

Blind: The attacker using Blind inflicts
a cut above one of the victim's eyes. Nor¬
mal damage occurs, but there is also a
25% chance of the victim incurring tempo¬
rary blindness, reducing armor class ( +2
penalty) and attack rolls ( -2 penalty). If
both eyes are blinded, the victim takes
further penalties to armor class ( +4) and
attack rolls ( -4). Blindness lasts until the
wound is treated. There is a 2% chance
that the blindness will be permanent.

Vein: With this attack, the victim suffers
only 1 hp damage at first, but will lose 1
hp per round thereafter due to blood loss.
Successive hits result in cumulative blood
loss. Blood loss continues until the wound
is bound or healed.

Artery: A major artery is nicked using
this maneuver. The victim loses 1 hp ini¬
tially but will lose 3 hp per round there¬
after until the wound is attended to. If the
attacker misses, he does no damage and
loses his following attack.

Heavy Blow: This blow inflicts double
damage. A miss results in the loss of the
martial-artist's next attack.

Limb Paralysis: This maneuver is
identical to the Lock maneuver, Incapacita-
tor (Oriental Adventures, page 103), in
that the victim stuck by the blunt weapon
suffers paralysis of a finger, hand, arm,
foot, or leg for 24 hours, with double
normal damage from the weapon. The

effects of a paralyzed limb are explained That concludes the list of new special

under the wu jen spell withering palm maneuvers, but the possibilities are by no

(Oriental Adventures, page 94). If the means exhausted. Martial arts, after all,

victim makes a saving throw vs. paralyza- deal with the vast potential of the human
tion when struck, he takes only normal spirit. In the realm of fantasy at least, that

damage from the weapon. potential is limitless.

Stunning Blow: Recipients of a Stun- [Other articles on creating martial-arts

ning Blow suffer normal damage but must styles for Oriental Adventures campaigns
save vs. paralyzation or be stunned and include: "Marshalling the Martial Arts ," in

unable to attack for 1-4 rounds. A miss issue #122; “A Menagerie of Martial Arts,"

results in the loss of the martial artist's in issue #127; and "New Kicks in Martial

next attack. Arts," in issue #136. See also "Flying Feet

Great Blow: This, the only attack avail- and Lightning Hands ," in this issue, for

able in the round in which it is used, does more special maneuvers.] Q

triple damage and forces the victim to save
versus paralyzation or be knocked uncon¬
scious for 3-6 rounds. A miss causes the

DRAGON 17

Brotherhood

Give your monks a brotherhood — and a purpose in life

by Tom Griffith

With the publication of the AD&D® 1st
Edition Oriental Adventures book in 1985,
the monk class was finally placed in its
proper environment. Still, big questions
remained: What purpose does this class
serve, and what separates this class from
the other Oriental classes? Why are monks
"monastic aesthetics" (1st Edition Players
Handbook, page 30)? Do all those monastic
temples serve a purpose, or are they just
martial artists' hangouts?

Until I began playing the AD&D game,
my only source of information about
monks was the television series, Kung Fu.
Since Oriental Adventures came out. I've
discovered different examples of monkish
organizations in modern fantasy fiction.

All of these examples have one thing in
common: a specific goal or mission, a
reason for being.

The purpose of this article is to share
some helpful ideas to give purpose and
reason to the workings of monkish broth¬
erhoods. DMs should create orders of
monks for their campaigns, rather than
having monks merely quote poetry and
wise sayings while they kick the tails of
those who exploit the weak

Examples from fiction

One of the finest examples of historical
fiction having a monk as a central charac¬
ter is Robert Shea's Shike series, consisting
of the books War of the Dragons and Last
of the Zinja. The main character, Jebu, is a
monk from an ancient Japanese brother¬
hood known as the Zinja. The book reveals
the sect's secret mission: to direct the new
class of elite warrior, the samurai, into
becoming a civilized soldier instead of a
bloodthirsty killer in the changing Japan
of the early 1200s. To justify their day-to-
day existence, the Zinja use the excuse of
being the finest bodyguards and merce¬
naries around.

An example more familiar to readers of
fantasy fiction is Stephen R. Donaldson's
Bloodguard, from the Chronicles of
Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever. Origi¬
nally, the Bloodguard was an army of
fierce mountain-dwelling tribesmen who
came to the Land bent on conquest. Once
these warriors met the Lords, the gentle
guardians of the Land; and saw the many
wonders of that magical place, they swore
the Vow to serve the Lords and the Land.
Thus the Bloodguard began their self-
appointed task to serve in roles that
ranged from bodyguards to messengers.

Anyone familiar with the AD&D game's
WORLD OF GREYHAWK® setting knows of
the Scarlet Brotherhood, a ring of assas¬
sins and thieves ruled over by a powerful
order of evil monks, whose goal is the
establishment of the Suel people as the
master race of Greyhawk. The module
WG8 Fate of Istus dealt extensively

with this organization and its destiny.

A lesser-known example of this class
comes from the book, Witchblood, by Will
Shetterly. Although the setting is more
medieval European than Oriental, the
main character, Rifkin, can still be classi¬
fied as a monk. His order, the White
Mountain School of the Warrior Saint, was
formed when his world was ruled by a
cruel race of witches. Because the witches
denied them weapons, the followers of the
warrior saint learned to make anything
into a weapon, even their hands and feet.
Eventually they overthrew their evil mas¬
ters, but, because the followers were tired
of bloodshed, they let the witches live. A
group of men still follow the Warrior
Saint, working to perfect The Art and
watching the witches should they again
threaten humanity.

And don't forget the Shaolin of the Kung
Fu TV series, whose primary duties, in
addition to perfecting themselves physi¬
cally and spiritually, seemed to be to teach
and aid the local populace.

Orders to order

From these examples, you can get some
ideas on creating the basics of a monastic
society. Some guidelines on inventing
original monkish brotherhoods follow.

The first and most important item is to
establish a reason for the order's exist¬
ence. What are these monks trying to
accomplish? In many cases, a simple one-
line explanation will suffice. Once the
primary mission is established, often a
secondary purpose comes to mind, usually
a means of accomplishing the primary goal
(e.g., working as bodyguards as a means of
defending the rightful rulers of a nation).
Monks cultivate an appreciation of art and
beauty in their training, seeing their mis¬
sion as divine and proper and one that
demands perfection from those who must
separate themselves from society to train
for it (hence "monastic aesthetics").

Directly tied to the sect's ambitions are
the special skills or equipment necessary
to accomplish those goals. A Shaolin might
need healing or calligraphy skills, while a
Bloodguard might need running or sur¬
vival skills.

Training styles of the order are closely
related to its special skills, but are separate
enough to warrant special consideration.
The Shaolin of Kung-fu delegated menial
tasks to its initiates to teach them humility,
while the Scarlet Brotherhood made its
recruits vie for the superior training of the
monk. Bloodguard receive their martial-
arts training in the fierce tribal wars of
their mountain homeland. Zinja are
trained from the beginning not to fear
death from any source (the first chapter of
War of the Dragons gives a good example
of monkish training methods).

Once the monks' mission has been out¬
lined and their skills and training consid¬
ered, the alignment of the monks in the
order should become obvious. This is
usually easy to work out, as monks can
only be one of the three lawful align¬
ments. One can assume that the Shaolin
are lawful good, and the Scarlet Brother¬
hood is certainly lawful evil.

After this has been established, think
about the specific martial-arts style that is
practiced and perfected by these monks in
order to achieve their sect's goals. Are
they peaceful, gentle protectors who pre¬
fer to subdue opponents, or are they
vicious warriors concerned only with
putting foes down quickly and perma¬
nently? [See " Things Your Sensei Never
Taught You ," in this issue, for details on
creating martial-arts styles.]

Once the brotherhood has been created,
give some thought to its history. Who
founded the order, and why? An order
might come into being because of the
dream of one man. Or a group of men
might decide there is something vital that
needs to be done, and so selflessly devote
their lives to the fulfillment of that goal.
(The Shaolin of Kung-Fu make it their
mission to train men to accomplish their
own self-appointed tasks.) During its his¬
tory, has the order made allies of a partic¬
ular sect or deadly enemies of others? Is
there a certain symbol or object associated
with the order? The branded forearms of
the Shaolin priests and the willow tree of
the Zinja are examples of such symbols.

Finally, after everything else has been
established, think about why any of the
monks would leave their temples to go out
into the world as adventurers. Kwai-Chang
Caine rims from his impulsive murder of a
prince, the Zinja hire out as mercenaries
and bodyguards, and the members of the
Scarlet Brotherhood are spread out all
over the lands of Greyhawk as information
gatherers and spies. Usually, with a little
thought and imagination, you can find
several good reasons for any order to send
its brothers into the outside world.

The following three examples were
created for my Dragonhead campaign,
using these guidelines. These illustrate
how easy it is to create interesting monas¬
tic societies.

The Order of the Enlightened
Seekers

"You may go in now," announced the
arrogant-looking seneschal. Kwim-Lu
stood up from the lotus position he had
assumed for the past hour's wait, straight¬
ened his short robe, and accompanied the
servant out of the small waiting room. As
he silently padded down the long, cold
hallway to the meeting, he mentally pre-

DRAGON 19

pared himself to accomplish his mission or
return in shame. As he reached the door,
the large, hairy warrior who was guarding
it ushered him inside without a word.

Kwim-Lu stepped into the smoky cham¬
ber and tried to ignore the strong odor of
ill-cooked meat, unwashed bodies, and
strong wine. The men here were all of a
type —dirty, unkempt, blonde giants, a
direct contrast to the short, immaculate
Yai-Kang monk.

The figure on the large stone chair beck¬
oned Kwim-Lu forward. The monk stoically
hid his distaste as the leader leaned for¬
ward and addressed him. "Who are you,
and why do you interrupt my feasting?"

Kwim-Lu bowed deeply and responded.
"My lord, I am Kwim-Lu, a member of an
order who was sent to deliver an offer to
you for our mutual benefit."

Lord Kirken sat back as he considered
the black-haired easterner before him.
"'What kind of offer, little man?"

"You are said to have acquired a book of
ancient Aridia, a tome of the history of
bygone days. My masters wish to have this
information. We are prepared to pay you
handsomely for this book, in gold or what¬
ever else you wish."

Dirken stared at the slight Yai-Kang in
disbelief. "A book? You risked your life on
a dangerous journey for a book?

What kind of people rule this order of
yours?"

The Order of Enlightened Seekers is an
organization of lawful-good monks
founded in Yai-Kang following the first
Darke Invasion. Because of the terrible
destruction of artworks and written docu¬
ments in this war, this order came into
being to prevent such a tragedy from
happening again. These monks travel the
length and breadth of Dragonhead collect¬
ing histories, artworks, music, cultural
notes, and other literature. These are then
stored in a massive stronghold, the loca¬
tion of which is known only to the Masters
of the Order, where they will be safe for
future generations of artisans and histo¬
rians to enjoy. As a secondary duty, these
gentle monks work as librarians in their
temples, which are known as centers for
learning, reference, and the arts. Any¬
where the symbol of the shining dove is
found, so too shall knowledge and culture
reside.

The training of these ascetics is long and
involved. From an early age they are given
a general education in culture and the
arts. Whichever cultural aspect the stu¬
dent is most adept at and interested in is
the one in which he receives advanced
training. Selecting his field of mastery is
the most important decision a young
Seeker must make, as knowledge is as
important as physical perfection to these
benevolent monks. It is not surprising that
the style of self-defense used by this order

is the "Fist Within Glove" style of martial
art (see "A Menagerie of Martial Arts," in
DRAGON® issue #127), as this gentle style
fits in well with the Seekers' philosophy of
nonviolence. Those initiates who show
shortcomings or flaws during their train¬
ing are given monastery-based positions,
such as teachers, librarians, scribes, or
other scholarly jobs.

As a novice, a monk character from this
order gains a minor sage ability. The
player selects one of the sage special cate¬
gories found on page 32 of the 1st Edition
Dungeon Masters Guide, such as Human¬
kind Art or Demi-Human Laws and Cus¬
toms. He is treated as a sage with a minor
field of study in that specific category
only. Any special equipment necessary to
perform that function is presented to the
lst-level character by his masters as he
sets out.

The most obvious reason for a Seeker to
leave his temple is to become a collector.
Assigned by his order to a particular re¬
gion or country, he could work for a ruler
as an indentured servant to pay for a
needed article, explore dangerous ruins in
that area looking for ancient treasures, or
be assigned to observe a group of locals
and record their customs and lifestyle.
Buying art objects from greedy owners is
expensive, so many Seekers are also
needed to collect funds by seeking contri¬
butions, tutoring, or adventuring.

The Brotherhood of the Black
Lotus

Kasigi, Daimyo of Iraquis, stepped into
his sunlit balcony and into the full view of
his people. Peasants crowded together,
respectfully distant from the daimyo's
powerful samurai warriors. After a mo¬
ment of silence, Kasigi spoke.

"My people, I stand before you today to
guide you on a holy mission. On this very
land, blessed of the gods themselves, is
being built a false temple by honorless
dogs who call themselves priests. Their
sohei walk openly about this wicked mon¬
astery, as if brazenly challenging my brave
warriors.

"But no more. Their challenge will be
met by the steel of my samurai. Soon their
evil forces will be destroyed, and their
house of corruption burned to the ground.
Such a war will be costly. You, my people,
will be expected to aid this holy mission in
your own small way. All taxes will be
raised to one full koku of rice to fund this
war, effective immediately."

He smiled a beatific smile. "May the gods
of our ancestors bless us with their glori¬
ous wisdom."

He returned to his chambers. The peo¬
ple, surprised at this announcement from
their normally peaceful and slothful
leader, wandered home, wondering how
to pay this large increase of taxes.

Kasigi, now sweating heavily, sat down
wearily on his sleeping mat and looked at
the small figure seated opposite him. "Did
I do well?" the overlord asked anxiously.

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DRAGON 21

"Very well indeed," purred the small
man. "Now rest. Soon you will need your
strength as you become master of twice
the land you now hold."

Kasigi licked his lips as he smiled. "I
hope things go as you say they will, Sho-
sogi. Now, perhaps you could aid me to
see the lovely visions of the place the gods
have set aside for me should I succeed?"

The small man smiled as he reached a
surprisingly muscular arm into the folds
of his dark robe and pulled out a small
black flask. "Of course, sire. Merely a sip
of this magical elixir, and the dreams shall
be yours."

As the daimyo greedily drank from the
flask, Shosogi smiled. Soon the soldiers of
this weak puppet would destroy the rival
order's temple, breaking the order's only
hold on this region. Then Shosogi's own
order could move in. Of course, the extra
taxes would be spent by Kasigi to obtain
more of this lotus juice, thus enriching
Shosogi's brothers, Shosogi knew that his
masters would be pleased by his success,
and his smile broadened.

The origins of the Brotherhood of the
Black Lotus go back only a few decades.

Its founder, a poor and lonely florist,
ached for power and riches. Then, during
one of his flower-gathering trips, he dis¬
covered the rare and beautiful black lotus
and learned its deadly secret as a narcotic

(see "The Deadliest Perfume," in DRAGON
issue #121). Always a religious man, he
soon made plans to found his own temple
devoted solely to raising this rare flower,
and to these ends gathered a small group
of devout monks who shared his love of
religion with a love of power and beauty.

However, as the small monastery grew
and prospered, there also grew a number
of brothers who desired political power
more than spiritual power. One night they
disposed of the old founder and instituted
their own ruthless methods and goals.

They kept the symbol of the black lotus to
represent the beauty, grace, and deadli¬
ness the new order came to possess.

The primary goal of the Brotherhood
became control of the government
through the use of drugs, bribes, and
assassinations. Its eventual goal was to
become the sole source of religion in its
land by destroying or discrediting all other
monastic societies. This evil goal incorpo¬
rates a harsh and severe training style
focusing on cruel, rigorous physical train¬
ing and ego building. An incredible arro¬
gance and hatred of other orders is
ingrained into the young initiates; kind¬
ness and mercy are causes for severe
punishment, death, or dismissal from the
order. The style of martial art taught is the
cobra style (see "A Menagerie of Martial
Arts," in DRAGON issue #127), as this hard,
ruthless style reflects well the Brother¬

hoods debased society. The cruel mem¬
bers of this sect often select swords and
other deadly weapons for weapon profi¬
ciencies and have no qualms about using
them. As the final part of their training, all
initiates are automatically taught the herb¬
alist skill, to properly handle and process
the deadly black lotus.

Two good reasons for members of this
lawful-evil order to adventure outside the
monastery can easily be generated. An
organization that thrives on bribery and
assassination needs exorbitant amounts of
money to finance such activities. Many of
the adepts go adventuring simply to collect
treasures for the order's masters. Other
members of the Brotherhood of the Black
Lotus are assigned to influential or
wealthy PCs or related NPCs to control
them or sway them into the dangerous
embrace of the black lotus. This order
functions well as an NPC group against
which the PCs must fight—or else become
its victims.

The Lawgivers

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straight toward them, unarmed and appar¬
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short, chopping gesture. Three men to
the leader's right raised their razor-sharp
yari and hurled them at the stranger.
Although all of the deadly missiles flew
true, none hit their mark. With a series of
darting movements and flying hands, the
man deflected the spears and stood un¬
scratched.

Drahka-Khan then issued a sharp, bark¬
ing order. Five of the raiders to his left
dismounted and warily approached the
warrior, who now stood at ease with a
slender baton held easily in each hand.
Once they reached him, one of the bandits
darted forward with his tau-kien flashing
in the hot sun. With a move quick as light¬
ning, one of the stranger's sticks easily
parried the blade while the other rapped
the man sharply on the head. As the
raider crumpled, the other four attacked.

It was all over in the space of a few
seconds. Whirling, his sticks flying with
breathtaking precision, the lone warrior
soon had all five of the Temujin warriors
stretched senseless in the sands. Putting
his sticks in his belt, the stranger walked
over to the Khan, bowed deeply, and said,
"Greetings, Khan. I am Jhengi, sent here to
be your servant."

The Lawgivers were created when a
small group of monks survived the de¬
struction of their temple by a tribe of
forest barbarians. These monks decided
that the barbarians were not bad or even
evil—just undisciplined and uncivilized.

These surviving brothers made it their
mission in life to convert all barbarians in
their homeland to a civilized, lawful life¬
style. They planned to accomplish this
through demonstrating the advantages of
civilization, through kindness, force, intim¬
idation, demonstrations of physical prow¬
ess, or whatever it else it took.

The new order called itself The Lawgiv¬
ers. Its members adopted a symbol of two
crossed sticks inside a circle of chain, to
represent law and discipline inside the
neverending cycle of life. Over the centu¬
ries, these monks have had limited success
with individual tribes, enough to keep the
sect hopeful, but the mission has been
found to become more difficult as civiliza¬
tion becomes more complex for the bar¬
barians. The order has no interest in
whether the barbarians' outlook is good or
evil; its total interest lies in the savages'
acceptance of order and law. Naturally,
this order's alignment is lawful neutral.

In order to survive and prosper while
living under the harsh lifestyle of the
barbarians, members of this order are
trained to the peak of both physical and
mental perfection (to demonstrate that
civilization can make tough warriors, too,
and to inure the monk to the confusion of
a chaotic lifestyle). These monks are
taught to endure physical hardships and
discomfort, and to use independent
decision-making during long periods of
living with certain barbarian tribes.

The Lawgivers teach escrima (see "Mar¬

shalling the Martial Arts," DRAGON issue
#122, and "Kicks and Sticks," in issue #124)
as their style of martial art, and a Law¬
giver is never seen without his two
escrima sticks (treat as jo sticks).

A useful advantage of this training is
that monks of this order can select their
nonweapon proficiency skills from the
barbarian table (Oriental Adventures, page
53, table 59) as well as the other tables.
Often, after they retire from their mis¬
sions, monks of this brotherhood will
serve the barbarians as ambassadors,
guides, and counselors.

Another facet of this fairly militant
order is well known: It is extremely venge¬
ful toward anyone who has unjustifiably
killed or injured one of its members. An
entire tribe of the Temujin raiders was
killed by the members of a vengeful Law¬
giver temple because the bandits defended
the killer of a Lawgiver monk. This trait is
seen as necessary by the brotherhood to
let the barbarian leaders know that this
monastic society is not to be trifled with.

Several good reasons for this type of
monk to seek adventure as a PC can be
found. For instance, the PC could be at¬
tached to a barbarian PC as a bodyguard,
teacher, or guide. Perhaps the chief of the
tribe to which the monk is appointed
sends the monk on a long and difficult
mission as a test or service, or to simply
get rid of the monk without rousing the
considerable ire of his order. Or maybe
the PC monk was sent out by his monas¬
tery to track down and punish someone
who has killed one of his fellows.

Conclusion

The ideas and examples set forth in this
article show that the monks of the Orien¬
tal world can fit into society as well as any
other classes. With a little planning, light
reading, and imagination, some wonderful
monastic orders can be created for use as
PCs, interesting neighbors, or deadly foes
who will enrich any campaign.

Bibliography

Donaldson, Stephen R. Lord Foul's Bane.

New York: Del Rey Fantasy Books, 1977
Donaldson, Stephen R. The Ulearth War.

New York: Del Ray Fantasy Books, 1977
Shea, Robert. War of the Dragons. New

York: Jove Books, 1980.

Shea, Robert. Last of the Zinja. New York:

Jove Books, 1981

Shetterly, Will. Witch Blood. New York:

Ace Fantasy Books, 1986
Ward, James M. GREYHAWK® Adventures.

Lake Geneva, Wis.: TSR, Inc., 1988 £1

24 DECEMBER 1990

The Horde

Threatens The Realms

The Empires Trilogy Erupts With Action

T5ft -DMsenu (tree denmetic oehwmjres set in 1$ie belting

FORGOTTOJ REALMS" enm F^’^n ^Otld. E-ail met 1 !: West

wFififi ihi mid 1'jigqn Urhflnjin horsemen untie to mac* d
and iLnrtafsp-able aim? — hell-bent on plundering and conquering
the world.,

Horselotds throws you inb the midit of wild Mid ruthless Tuigan
tribes. There, sara^efy, s*ten£lb and sierncb gmbody (wqfday life.
TIikt powerdwnftr? warlords ere cnnsuijioti with destruction.

Drnponwill dsKribes these bkodlhit«y amibs end their attacks
on the Eastern empire. Likewise* spies, intrigue and the cun|lirt c-f

anetiF the empire s IxiBjaht isaders — torn between hi? Iiwr, his,
loyalties and ka barbarian hn-iti.gr — "ill eisy pa^-e.

Cnisnde draw? tW desperate Western neiims together under on-e
bold and powerful lender 10 repel &e batLuriun csulnught. His
^atrtiy, ^rgrd pf pjnFVefy bIIies, standi (o batile the bnrdo, lit the
pcio? of sming (h# West may include ikr life of his beWd daughsei

Don’t mss any of (W *■riling fpqt«y nchemures w the thrilling
dkiBK of ihie Eapcre* Triln^ witfi ?be December
release of Crusade. All no*ds on sale at yout
nearby Waldenbooki and B. Dolicm k^tores.

fCrwriEh M*I Iu HH ltH

i :™ =-, rsn re 1 im'T:Vi. re ui^ i

Born to Defend

The piao shih for Oriental AD&D® campaigns

by Joseph R. Ravitts

In real-world China, from antiquity
through the 19th century, the vast dis¬
tances that merchants and officials had to
cross required the existence of profes¬
sional caravan guards who were martial
artists worthy of comparison with any
Shaolin priest. Such a guard was called a
piao shih, which meant literally "dart-
master" for these escort warriors tended
to be experts in throwing heavy darts at
bandits. Many Chinese-language adventure
movies have been made about piao shih.

The inclusion of piao shih in an AD&D®
Oriental Adventures game can serve sev¬
eral purposes. First, travel scenarios may
be enlivened for the players if there is a
new character type to be encountered
specifically in connection with the journey.
Second, the very existence of highway
escorts, implying the whole situation of a
hard-to-police expanse of territory, will
remind those concerned of how big Kara-
Tur is supposed to be. Third, if characters
of non-Oriental classes are visiting Kara-Tur
or any equivalent thereof, the DM can
provide the visitors with a hireling or ally
qualified to shepherd the uninitiated.

Only humans and spirit folk can become
piao shih, each with unlimited advance¬

ment. The piao shih is a mixture of bushi
and monk, with a dash of ranger mixed in.
He cannot have any ability score lower
than 12, and he must have at least one
score of 15 or better in strength or dexter¬
ity, plus at least one score of 15 or better
in wisdom or charisma. No bonus in
earned experience is gained. Most piao
shih are lawful neutral, but they may be
of any lawful or good alignment. Lawful-
evil piao shih exist only under an evil
government; piao shih can never be cha¬
otic (except chaotic good), because a ten¬
dency to betray or abuse clients would
ruin their reputations, turn away future
business, and prevent them from advanc¬
ing further in this profession.

Piao shih have eight-sided hit dice. They
can use any sort of armor or shield but
generally choose leather, studded leather,
or padded armor. Piao shih use the combat
and saving-throw tables of fighters, mak¬
ing as many attacks per round as bushi.
Each starts with four character proficien¬
cies, gaining one every two levels there¬
after and applying a nonproficiency
penalty of -2 to weapons used. Proficien¬
cies may be chosen from the artisan, bar¬
barian, common, and court tables. Any
sort of magical items permitted to all
classes and those permitted to fighter
types may be used by them, as well as any
magical weapons or armor. Oil may be

used in combat, but only lawful-evil piao
shih use poison. Piao shih start with a base
honor of 20 and have 1-4 ch'ien and 1-10
tael (ch'ao). Treat piao shih as bushi for
determining their birth rank and family
status. Henchmen and hirelings are per¬
mitted, and additional followers will be
gained as the piao shih rises in level (as
explained later).

Every piao shih possesses the following
special abilities:

—A +1 bonus on attack and damage
rolls (cumulative with any strength and
dexterity bonuses) when hurling the darts
that are the trademark of this class (these
are the thrown darts described in Oriental
Adventures.

—The tracking ability of a ranger, as per
Unearthed Arcana.

—The ability to fight bare handed as a
monk of equal level (using the martial art
kung-fu, with level-based martial-arts
attacks/round and damage from Table 21,
page 18, Oriental Adventures), as long as
they wear no armor heavier than leather,
studded leather, or padded.

—The ability to climb walls as an Orien¬
tal Adventures monk of equal level
(Thieves Table II, page 22, from Unearthed
Arcana, is applied to their ability to climb
walls when wearing armor).

—The ability to discern if a person is
wearing a nonmagical disguise. The base

DRAGON 27

chance of successful detection is 15%, plus
5% for every experience level the piao
shih has above the first. This is rolled
upon the first meeting with a disguised
person; if immediate detection fails, the
piao shih still has a normal chance of
seeing through the disguise later, as per
the rules covering disguised assassins
(page 29,1st Edition PHB).

—The capacity to learn twice as many
spoken (but not written) languages as
would normally be ruled possible on the
basis of the individual's intelligence score.

Advancing rank brings other benefits,
some fixed in nature and others involving
choices between special interest areas.

The following benefits are the same for
every piao shih:

—On reaching 4th level, a piao shih gains
a marked ability to negotiate with robbers
or intelligent monsters whose total hit dice
and/ or levels is no more than twice and no
less than half the hit dice/level total for the
piao shih's party. Treat such negotiations
as per the AD&D 1st Edition Dungeon
Masters Guide, page 63 ("Encounter Reac¬
tions"); however, for every point of com¬
bined wisdom and charisma possessed by
the piao shih, grant a 1% greater chance
of an outcome favorable to the piao shih
and his clients (though this may involve
paying a modest tribute to the other side).
At repeated encounters with any potential
enemy with whom a piao shih has success¬
fully bargained for safe passage before,
there is a further 5% chance for a peace¬
ful settlement—provided that, in the time
since their last meeting, nothing has hap¬
pened to cause irreconcilable enmity be¬
tween them. (This, more than competition
with other piao shih, is why a piao shih
team stakes out one route or territory for
its business and sticks to that.) Of course,
the higher a piao shih rises in rank and
the more colleagues he accumulates, the
less any bandit dares to demand from him.

—At 5th level, the piao shih's superiors
consider him competent to recruit and
train one zero-level youth to be a piao
shih. If the 5th-level piao shih ever rises
high enough to start his own organization,
this first pupil will be allowed to come
along as second in command of the new
group (though stealing large numbers of
personnel from the parent group would
be dishonorable). Also, at this level, a piao
shih is usually allowed, by his organization
and by escorted clients, to assume more
authority over the party he guards than is
the case for lower-level piao shih. The piao
shih is considered to be equal to the high¬
est social class present in the party, with
regards to decisions that affect the course
of the journey.

—At 9th level, a piao shih has the right,
when assuming responsibility for any sort
of caravan, to exercise complete control
over any "servant" non-piao shih in the
party (e.g., a bushi who is the long-time
bodyguard of a nobleman being escorted
by the piao shih, or even a monk who has
been teaching martial arts to the noble¬

man's son). It is also usually at this rank
that the piao shih can gain a permanently
organized troop of piao shih under his
command. (This troop typically contains
two lieutenants of 4th-6th level, and 10-12
more piao shih of 1st or 2nd level.)

— At 10th level, the piao shih is allowed
to command a force of three or more piao
shih (and these may even be from differ¬
ent organizations, if the organizations are
friendly), so as to protect major caravans
several miles in length. Also, at this level,
he acquires an ability to sense approach¬
ing danger once per day, as if he had the
psionic talent of precognition (page 113,

1st Edition PHB). This ability is uncon¬
scious, allowing the piao shih to sense
danger when normal methods (scouting,
etc.) fail. Also, this ability functions only in
wilderness areas the piao shih travels
regularly.

—At 11th level. Master of Escorts, the
piao shih is entitled to found an indepen¬
dent escort business, provided he can find
a reasonably open territory or can take
the leadership, if vacant, of his present
organization. The new organization will
usually attract 4-16 zero-level men-at-arms
of compatible alignment. Half of these will
be qualified to become true piao shih; the
rest will be retained to guard the new
organization's headquarters. The new
Master of Escorts should promptly have a
banner designed for his group, usually
bearing some slogan like "Our darts bring
lightning from the clouds," or "All serpents
are crushed beneath our horses' hooves."

—If a piao shih makes it to 15th level
without having suffered a humiliating
defeat (in the DM's judgment), his banner
becomes an object of profound respect.
Any hostile beings (short of outer-planes
beings) who see and recognize that ban¬
ner, so long as it is borne by some person
or group that looks capable of defending
itself, must check morale before coming
within 100 yards of the bearer. Members
of the Master's own piao shih organiza¬
tion, or of any piao shih friendly to that
Master, gain +10% on morale when see¬
ing that banner in friendly hands. If the
banner is visible to a person attempting a
psychic duel with the piao shih, this antag¬
onist is treated as being two levels lower
than his actual experience level.

— Any piao shih of 17th level or above
can be sure of carrying at least as much
weight as a minor nobleman in his na¬
tional government's decisions affecting
travel and commerce. He essentially enters
nobility at this point.

In addition to the above talents, each
piao shih, in the course of his career, can
select four specialties—two tactical and
two strategic—as indicated in the level-
advancement chart. Improvements in
these specialties are counted from the
time of acquisition, rather than by the
character's current experience level. Thus,
if a 3rd-level piao shih takes up the
Ground Fighting specialty, while another
character adopts this specialty for the first

time at 7th-level, both use this specialty
skill at the same level of expertise.

Tactical specialties

Base Defense: This specialty benefits a
piao shih who must defend a fixed location
against possible attack (such as an inn at
which the piao shih's party is staying, or
the headquarters of the piao shih's organi¬
zation). The skill is usable in any building
or dwelling more complex than a small
tent or unfurnished hut. At the DM's op¬
tion, it may also be applicable in certain
outdoor settings, such as a graveyard or
an elaborate palace garden.

The specialty works as follows: Before
any threat arises, the piao shih must study
the location to be guarded, much as a
blind person learns to "navigate" at
home —getting a feel for such details as the
positions of furniture, the distance across
a room, and the width of doorways. If
combat occurs in the memorized area, the
piao shih gains a +2 defensive bonus to
armor class and saving throws against any
form of attack that can be hindered by
material barriers, for he is prepared to
dive behind furniture, duck around cor¬
ners, etc., more quickly and skillfully than
would normally be possible. He also gains
a +1 bonus to his to-hit rolls against the
enemy by keeping them off balance with
such moves as yanking rugs out from
under their feet or slamming doors in
their faces. These benefits are doubled if
the area is in total darkness, unless the
attackers are able to offset the darkness
by infravision or similar powers. At the
DM's discretion, this talent should lessen
the chances of the piao shih hitting any of
his own allies while fighting in the dark by
a to-hit modifier of -2.

Upon first taking up this specialty, a piao
shih must spend at least 24 hours in a
dwelling or other base (more for larger
places—e.g., complete castles) before being
able to enjoy the above advantages. Only
one location can be so used at a time;
settling into a new base drives out the
tactical memories of the place previously
defended. When the piao shih has gained a
level after acquiring this specialty, the
area-memorizing time is cut in half; when
a second subsequent level has been
gained, the piao shih need only spent 1-4
hours in a place in order to have the lay¬
out sufficiently memorized. At the third
subsequent level, he can keep two area
layouts freshly in mind at once (one will
usually be his permanent headquarters).

At the fourth subsequent level, if the
character has an intelligence of 16 or
better, he can add another simultaneous
"base memory" for each point of his intelli¬
gence above 16. This could be used to
create a string of emergency refuges along
the piao shih's customary route—though
the bandits might get wise and burn the
places down in the character's absence!

If the piao shih having this specialty also
has the Trap Construction specialty, com¬
bining the two skills in defense of the

28 DECEMBER 1990

same spot will have this result: Thieves,
assassins, or hostile monks entering the
defended area will have a -35 modifier to
their chances of detecting the traps the
piao shih has placed inside the area, while
they are engaged in melee combat. This
occurs because the piao shih is often able
to maneuver his opponents into triggering
the devices upon themselves. Whenever
succeeding in this, the piao shih gets to
make an extra melee attack upon his un¬
fortunate enemy at a +1 bonus to his
attack roll.

Combat Horsemanship: All piao shih
are assumed to be able to travel and fight
on horseback. But with this specialty, the
character can coax a +1 bonus in move¬
ment speed out of any horse he rides
without causing an increase in fatigue.
Moreover, when the piao shih has gained a
level of experience after acquiring this
specialty, he can prevent a mount from
panicking at any ordinary cause of fear
(and the animal saves at a +2 against all
magical fear effects). When the piao shih
has gained two levels after acquiring this
specialty, the character gains a +1 bonus
on his armor class when fighting from
horseback, due to an ability to hang along¬
side the horse or make other evasive
changes of position. When the piao shih
has gained three levels after acquiring this
specialty, he gains a +2 bonus on armor
class from horseback. (The DM can treat
this bonus as cumulative with regular
dexterity bonuses to defense, but it will

not add to die rolls for monkish missile-
dodging.)

Ground Fighting: This specialty al¬
lows the piao shih to fight efficiently while
crouching, prone, or otherwise low to the
ground. This amounts to an advantage in
all situations where combatants have
difficulty standing upright (e.g., in caves,
on ice, or at night on ground covered with
obstacles). When fighting in such condi¬
tions against foes lacking this ability, the
piao shih gains a +1 on armor class. He
never takes more than half-damage from
being tossed or thrown down, and for
every level gained after this specialty is
acquired, he gains a 5% chance to escape
all trampling damage in situations like
being caught in a stampede of horses.
When gaining two levels after acquiring
this proficiency, the character gains a +1
defense bonus against the first attack by
any flying creature diving from above
(unless there was complete surprise).

Scaling: While a piao shih can climb
sheer cliffs and walls as a monk of equiva¬
lent level, this specialty enables him to
help other characters make such climbs.
The piao shih must have climbing equip¬
ment to lend to the person or persons he
helps; having this, he can get one client to
the top with the same chance of success
that the piao shih enjoys. When the piao
shih has gained a level after the one at
which this specialty was gained, the piao
shih can help two clients scale at the piao
shill's odds for success. When three addi¬

tional levels are gained, the piao shih can
efficiently help one client scale even when
no special gear is used by either of them.
For the piao shih's own benefit, if he has a
constitution of 14 or better and has been
active in high-altitude regions, he can
function normally at altitudes where oth¬
ers faint from lack of oxygen.

Water Skill: Choice of this specialty
means that the character initially gains
these benefits: the ability to swim 50%
faster than would otherwise be possible;
the ability to hold his breath underwater
50% longer than would otherwise be
possible; and the ability to handle any
small boat of a type to be found in the
character's home region. At the level fol¬
lowing the one at which this specialty was
gained, he adds the ability to fight on a
wildly swaying ship's deck without losing
his footing. At the next additional level, if
he falls into water while wearing a nor¬
mally fatal weight of armor or similar
encumbrance, he can (unless unconscious)
get free of the encumbrance in time to
escape drowning. At the third additional
level, he can perform expertly all the tasks
of crewing a large seagoing vessel (if pos¬
sessing intelligence of 14 or better, he can
also become a navigator). At the fourth
additional level, he can swim or paddle a
boat in perfect silence, enhancing odds of
surprising enemies.

Weapon Mastery: This specialty gives
the piao shih superior skill with one
weapon (not counting darts, with which all

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piao shih already have an edge). To have
this specialty, the piao shih must be
trained either by a senior piao shih spe¬
cializing in the same weapon, or by a
kensai who uses that weapon. No attack
bonus is gained, but the piao shih enjoys a
+1 bonus on his armor class against oppo¬
nents using the same weapon type. And,
for every level the piao shih gains after
acquiring this specialty, the character has
a 1% chance of instantly killing any man-
size or smaller foe he strikes with his
specialty weapon, up to a maximum
chance of 10%. No instant kills are possi¬
ble against giant-class beings anyway.
Weapon types should be narrowly defined
for purposes of this specialty, but more
narrowly for purposes of the offensive
benefit than for the defensive benefit. For
instance, a one piao shih chooses to spe¬
cialize in the great bow (daikyu). This bow
is drawn with the thumb in a fashion very
different from Western long bows; conse¬
quently, he would not gain the instant-kill
chance if he used an unfamiliar Western
bow. But he would enjoy his armor-class
bonus equally against all arrows fired at
him. If the specialty weapon is of the blunt
sort (staff, mace, etc.), the piao shih can
change the instant kill to nonlethal sub¬
dual if desired. A piao shih with a dexter¬
ity of 16 or better can make both of his
tactical specialties Weapon Mastery, thus
enjoying advantages with two weapons in
addition to his darts.

Strategic specialties

Crowd Control: This specialty does
not apply to combat-morale situations
except that, if the piao shih's party is flee¬
ing from overwhelming odds, this skill will
serve to maintain some order in a retreat
that might otherwise become a panicked
rout. The main purpose of this specialty is
to prevent quarrels, accidents, and panic
(in dangerous situations other than bandit
or monster attacks) among the non-piao
shih in a caravan. The piao shih having
this skill can influence any caravan mem¬
ber whose experience level does not ex¬
ceed the piao shih's own. The number of
persons who can be so influenced equals
the piao shih's charisma score, plus two
more for every level gained after acquir¬
ing Crowd Control. This ability can be
called upon in many situations, as when
caravan members wish to explore an area
that the piao shih knows to be dangerous,
or when the caravan's food supply is short
and requires rationing.

This specialty is not magical; thus, any
characters being protected by the piao
shih retain their free will regardless of this
persuasion. (By the same token, if PCs
voluntarily obey their piao shih, their
cooperation is treated as an addition to the
piao shih's extent of influence as described
above.) If two or more piao shih having
this specialty work together, their influ¬
ence will be cumulative as to number of
persons "controlled," provided that they
give no contradictory orders. At the DM's

discretion, actions done in obedience to a
piao shih for the safety of the caravan can
be exempt from loss of honor they could
otherwise entail.

Environment Augury: This skill is
like the druidic spell predict weather, only
it includes an ability to predict earth¬
quakes and avalanches. The base chance
for success is 30%, adding 5% for every
level gained after acquiring this specialty.

Graphology: In real-world China,
martial artists of any sort (unless they
were also priests) were never highly re¬
garded socially, even if the nation benefit-
ted by their deeds; accordingly, they often
lacked opportunities for nonmartial educa¬
tion. To reflect this, every piao shih below
Master's rank should be considered to be
illiterate, unless he has a 16 or better
intelligence or has had some special stroke
of luck (e.g., the piao shih saves a scribe's
life, getting reading and writing lessons as
a reward). If a piao shih is literate, he can
choose Graphology as a specialty. This
allows him to comprehend unfamiliar
written languages at a success probability
of 1% per point of intelligence, adding 2%
at every subsequent proficiency level.

Also, if there is any person whose hand¬
writing the piao shih frequently sees (mer¬
chant, official, etc.), he will be able to spot
forgeries of that person's writing. At the
level after the one at which this specialty
was obtained, the character has a 5%
chance (adding 5% at each subsequent
level) to detect invisible ink or other hid¬
den forms of writing. Four levels after
gaining this specialty, he becomes able to
create a limited private vocabulary of
marks and symbols that he can teach to
colleagues for secret-message purposes.

Pass Without Trace: This ability
works like the druidic spell of the same
name. The character has a 90% success
probability if traveling on foot, or 60% if
riding a horse or similar-size mount; this
assumes that the piao shih is not under
direct observation at the start of using this
specialty. Success indicates that normal
beings will not be able to follow the piao
shih's trail; rangers and others with special
tracking skills treat the use of this talent as
if they were tracking the piao shih
through the next-worst terrain type (as
per the appropriate terrain modifiers
tables). Piao shih are also able to cover the
tracks of others accompanying them.

Every person on foot accompanying the
piao shih (unless also having this skill)
subtracts 2% from the chance for success¬
ful trail concealment; each horse or simi¬
lar animal subtracts 6%; and wagons, or
very large animals, make things hopeless
unless the caravan is crossing terrain that
makes trail erasing easy, such as open
fields covered with snow.

Four levels after gaining this specialty,
the piao shih can boost the success proba¬
bility by taking one movement turn to
plant a false trail for pursuers. For every
level gained from this point on, this ma¬
neuver adds 5% to the chance of disguis¬

ing the party's true direction; at any level,
the chance of deceiving a tracker is en¬
hanced another 10% if an animal from the
caravan is sent running in the false trails
direction. (Note, however, that magical
methods of tracking can still defeat all
these tricks.)

Poison Warding: To acquire this spe¬
cialty, a piao shih must have access to an
alchemist or other character who knows
and will teach the piao shih how to detect
and remedy poisons. For every level
gained after taking this specialty, the char¬
acter has a 6% chance to detect the pres¬
ence of poison in food and drink, on
weapons, etc. (reduce the chance to 3%
per level if the poison is of the sophisti¬
cated "split components" variety— e.g., one
component in the wine, another in the
meat). Also, from the start, the character
learns to concoct preventive medicines
that cure 2 hp of poisoning damage, with
an additional 2 hp damage cured per level
after that at which this specialty was
gained. Each antidote must be specific to a
particular poison (an antidote good against
scorpion stings is useless against snake
venom or poisonous mushrooms).

Recruitment: This specialty helps a
piao shih in two noncombatant activities:
recruiting low-level persons as piao shih
trainees, and persuading merchants, offi¬
cials, and others to do business with the
piao shih's organization. For these pur¬
poses, the piao shih's charisma is treated
as three points higher than normal, even if
this means going above 18. (If the piao
shih uses his superior persuasiveness to
defraud people in any way, he may be¬
come a target for revenge, both by the
victims and by scandalized piao shih.)

If new piao shih are trained by a charac¬
ter who has gained two or more levels
after gaining this specialty, they will enjoy
a 10% bonus on earned experience
throughout their careers, provided that
their choices of tactical and strategic spe¬
cialties do not greatly differ from those of
the character who trained them. Finally, at
whatever time a piao shih having this
talent first begins his own organization,
8-32 new recruits will be attracted, plus
any compatibly aligned piao shih whose
own original captains have been slain.

Sensitivity to Scrutiny: This specialty
cannot be acquired unless the character
has a 15 or better in wisdom and has had
some contact with beings possessing some
type of psionic or magical means of infor¬
mation gathering. Such a character has a
bonus of +20% to his chances to detect
magical scrying, using the information in
the 1st Edition Dungeon Masters Guide,
page 141. The piao shih's base chance to
detect scrying is 4%, so a piao shih just
gaining this specialty has a 24% chance to
detect scrying, with bonus points for his
intelligence and level of experience.

Trap Construction: This specialty
allows the piao shih to install traps around
a campsite, at the entrance of rooms his
party may use at an inn, and on chests or

30 DECEMBER 1990

other portable containers. Each character
having this specialty will develop a specific
repertoire of traps from among the many
possible types (snares, pitfalls, poisoned
needles, fixed crossbows, etc.); certain
traps may become "signatures" for a par¬
ticular piao shih organization. The number
of trap types that a character can produce
(not counting the rudimentary covered pit
trap that anybody ought to be able to
make!) equals the number of points of
intelligence he has above 10, plus one for
each level gained after this specialty is
acquired. The character is not allowed to
use poison or acid in a trap unless he is
evil. Four levels after acquiring this spe¬
cialty, the piao shih will have become so
expert at trap-setting as to increase the
difficulty in disarming them; for every
level gained afterward, a thief has a 5%
penalty on the chance to disarm this char¬
acter's traps.

Rules and restrictions

The piao shih class may seem powerful
and complex. The complexity, however, is
chiefly felt by the DM; the players' experi¬
ence of piao shih skills should be easy
enough to take in, while providing a feel
for the kind of talents Oriental characters
possess. As for being powerful, the piao
shih operate under balancing restrictions,
much as paladins do.

Piao shih gain their experience points
primarily by the safe delivery of the peo¬
ple, merchandise, and treasure they un¬
dertake to protect; this is calculated on the
same basis as experience credit for any
other sort of characters if they were to kill
or capture the people and goods being
convoyed (subject to a DM's adjustments).
If a piao shih team does not have to cope
with any kind of danger, its members gain
only one-quarter experience credit for the
people and goods delivered. The safety of

the caravan counts more than killing ene¬
mies; thus, piao shih get experience for
enemies killed or captured only if such
actions are directly in the line of duty.
Otherwise, only half the usual experience
points are gained. For every person under
their care who dies or is lost or kid¬
napped, all piao shih above 1st level in the
party involved lose experience points
equal to the experience-point value of the
casualty, and the leading piao shih loses
double that amount. This loss never causes
a piao shih to lose a level, but it can cer¬
tainly delay his attainment of the next
level. Loss of extremely valuable items
belonging to clients is treated similarly,
unless it was necessary to sacrifice the
treasure to ensure the safety of the clients
themselves. (Only non-good piao shih ever
value cargo above lives.)

The abilities of the piao shih put very
little emphasis on secrecy and stealth, as
opposed to spotting the tricks of others.
Piao shih, while not soldiers in the usual
sense, identify with the established order
in their land and operate mostly in an
aboveboard way. All piao shih are forbid¬
den to tell lies or do anything deceitful,
unless this is necessary for the safety of
fellow piao shih, clients, or the piao shih's
own loved ones, in that order of priority
(piao shih organizations of non-good align¬
ment make no allowance for loved ones).
Piao shih can be expelled from their orga¬
nization for getting drunk on duty, as well
as for mistreating clients or for disobeying
superior piao shih. Any piao shih who
willingly helps bandits or actually joins
them is subject to a death sentence accom¬
panied by the most frightful available
tortures; he also gains no further experi¬
ence points.

Negotiating with bandits and monsters
for a caravan's safe passage is not counted
as treachery (unless the piao shih is

secretly enriching himself by "kickback"
deals that cost the client excessive
amounts of treasure). Similarly, under
some circumstances it may be permissible
for piao shih (whose element is the open
road) to exchange information and favors
with yakuza (whose element is city). Piao
shih do not consider it their duty to rid
their world of criminals altogether; they
only protect, by realistic and pragmatic
means, the people under their guidance.

In certain cases of strong provocation, the
piao shih will take aggressive measures
against bandits or monsters. If assassins
try to kill a piao shih Master, and the Mas¬
ter learns that they were hired by a rob¬
ber chieftain with whom he had always
negotiated in good faith, the Master can
rally not only his own organization but all
compatibly aligned piao shih organizations
with which he has any contact, for an
expedition to slay the offending chieftain.

This potential for intergroup coopera¬
tion is dependent on piao shih groups
respecting each other's rights. As a general
rule, a new escort organization is forbid¬
den to work on a trade route already
handled by another organization, unless
the entrenched organization gives its
consent. This rule will be enforced not
only by the piao shih subculture but by
local governments, merchants' organiza¬
tion, and possibly even by thieves' guilds
that fear increased trouble from the new¬
comers. A formal duel between escort
captains might settle a dispute over terri¬
torial rights. Any piao shih leader who
uses treachery to take over another's
route is liable to the same penalty as one
who turns to banditry (and, unless he is an
evil-aligned character displacing a good-
aligned one, may be deserted by his own
followers as an expression of their disgust
at their unworthy leader). Q

Piao Shih Level Advancement Table

8-sided dice

Additional

Experience

Level

Level title

for accum. hit points

abilities

points

Lookout

0-2,000

Sentry

2,001-4,000

Outrider

First tactical specialty

4,001-8,000

Escort

Special negotiating ability

8,001-16,000

Senior Escort

First strategic specialty

16,001-32,000

Thiefstopper

32,001-64,000

Banditslayer

Second tactical specialty

64,001-128,000

Wayclearer

128,001-250,000

Troopleader

Second strategic specialty

250,001-500,000

Marchleader

Precognition of danger

500,001-750,000

Captain of Escorts

Create own organization

750,001-1,000,000

Master of Escorts

11+2

1,000,001-1,250,000

Master of Escorts

11+4

1,250,001-1,500,000

Master of Escorts

11+6

1,500,001-1,750,000

Master of Escorts

11+13

Banner morale effects

1,750,001-2,000,000

Master of Escorts

11+10

2,000,001-2,250,000

Master of Escorts

11+12

Acceptance into aristocracy

2,250,001-2,500,000

250,000 XP are required for each level beyond 17th. Piao shih gain 2 hp per level beyond 17th. A piao shih with a dexterity of 18
can acquire tactical specialties one level sooner than indicated in this chart; one with a wisdom of 18 can acquire strategic special¬
ties one level sooner.

DRAGON 31

r If you have any questions on the games
produced by TSR, Inc., "Sage Advice" will
answer them. In the United States and
Canada, write to: Sage Advice, DRAGON®
Magazine, P.O. Box 111, Lake Geneva WI
53147, U.S.A. In Europe, write to: Sage
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CB1 3LD, United Kingdom. We are no
longer able to make personal replies;
please send no SASEs with your questions
(old SASEs are being returned with writ¬
ers' guidelines for the magazine).

This month, the sage takes another
quick spin around the AD&D® 2nd Edition
game. All rule book references are taken
from the 2nd Edition versions.

Will magic resistance stop gaze
attacks? Can magic resistance stop
protection from evil spells? How
would magic resistance affect a pala¬
din's protection from evil ability?

Magic resistance applies only to spells
and spell-like powers that directly affect
the magic-resistant creature. Consequen¬
tial effects, such as collapsing masonry
resulting from an earthquake spell, ignore
magic resistance. Magic resistance applies
to any effect created through the memori¬
zation and casting of a spell, and to spell¬
like effects from wands, staves, rods,
rings, and miscellaneous magical items. It
does not apply to breath weapons, gaze
attacks, energy draining, psionic abilities,
and similar special attack forms; nor does
it apply to effects that are intrinsic to an
item, such as the magical "pluses" on an
enchanted weapon or piece of armor.

There are many cases where effects fall
into a gray area, and the DM must rule on
these as they come up. When in doubt,
treat any effect that behaves like a spell
(i.e., that operates when the user does
something special to create it-concen-
tiates, expends a charge from an item,
etc.) as a spell.

Magic resistance can work against pro¬
tection from evil spells; see the section on
"in place" spells in the DMG, page 67, and
in the PHB, page 102. However, many DMs
rule that protection from evil is a special
case, especially in campaigns where pro¬
tection from evil is the only readily availa¬
ble defense against magic-resistant
creatures. This is perfectly acceptable,
since the power of protection from evil
can be considered a consequential effect

by Skip Williams

of a spell. A paladin's protection from evil
power probably should be considered a
special ability not subject to magic resist¬
ance, but it could be treated as a perma¬
nent magical effect (also see the DMG,
page 67, and the PHB, page 102).

If the last charge in a staff of the
magi is used, are those powers that
don't require charges still
operative?

No, the staff becomes completely non¬
functional. If you interpret the rules gov¬
erning magical staves (see the DMG, page
153) strictly, once a staff is drained of
charges it becomes permanently non-
magical. However, some DMs allow even
totally drained staves of the magi to regain
charges by absorbing spells.

The rules on scrolls in the DMG
(page 145) say that a read magic
spell must be used to discover a
scroll's contents. According to this
rule, even a map is unintelligible
until a comprehend languages spell
is used to decipher it. Since priests
have neither read magic nor com¬
prehend languages in their spell
lists, how do priests discover what's
on a scroll?

You seem to have found a genuine "hole"
in the rules. The DM can handle it in sev¬
eral ways:

1. Assume that the read magic and com¬
prehend languages spells can be bestowed
upon the item itself. The caster touches
the writing, and any single creature who
can read (in the case of maps) or cast the
type of spell written on the scroll can
decipher the writing. Alternately, the
caster can copy the map or simply explain
the spell to another caster, who can then
read the writing himself.

2. Assume that a tongues spell can be
used by priests to decipher scrolls, one
scroll per spell.

3. Introduce clerical versions of read
magic and comprehend languages spells
into your campaign. I recommend that you
make them both first-level spells in the All
sphere.

4. Assume that all priests have a limited
ability to decipher priestly scrolls on then-
own. A priest who does nothing else dur¬
ing a day might have a chance to petition
his deity for help in deciphering one or
more scrolls, provided he can read and
write.

Where can I get information on
herbs for the herbalism profi¬
ciency? Just what can a character do
with this proficiency? How strong
are the poisons and medicines the
herbalist makes?

Check out the article "Wounds and
Weeds" in DRAGON issue #82 for a quick
description of several herbs with fantasy-
game applications. The reference section
of your local library should also help.
Herbalism mainly is used to identify plants
and fungi. A successful proficiency check
might reveal a plant's most common names
and whether or not it is edible, poisonous,
or medicinal. A successful proficiency
check might also allow the herbalist to
know where a certain plant grows and to
find it if any are growing nearby. The DM
must decide how powerful an herbal
concoction is. In normal circumstances, I
suggest that the herbalist be limited to
mild poisons and weak healing balms. Mild
poisons include types A, G, K, and O (see
the DMG, page 73). Herbal healing balms
might include poultices that heal 1 hp
damage when applied to wounds, salves
that allow a resting character to gain one
extra hit point each day, and the like;
characters with the healing proficiency
might be able to use these products with
greater effect, say to heal 1-4 hp damage
or gain an extra 1-4 hp per day of rest. Of
course, if the herbalist has access to ex¬
traordinary plants (such as those found in
rain forests), he would be able to produce
more potent concoctions.

There is a player character in my
campaign who has spent several
years of game time and thousands of
gold pieces learning everything
there is to know about poisons.

What skills would he have? How
many proficiency slots would he
have to use? (I don't think the char¬
acter should have to give up all his
nonweapon proficiency slots after
all that effort.) How would you sim¬
ulate this skill in a game where the
original AD&D game rules are used?

The DM should have been thinking
about this while the PC was busy doing all
his research. Since the game does not
contain a poison-manufacturing profi¬
ciency per se (herbalism gives an inciden¬
tal understanding of plant poisons, but
many poisons are derived from animals or
minerals), you'd have to create a new

32 DECEMBER 1990

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proficiency.

Such a proficiency might require two
proficiency slots and be based on Intelli¬
gence -2. Depending on the campaign,
this proficiency would fall under one or
more of the following categories: wizard,
priest, rogue. The character would have to
expend at least two slots to get the skill;
the time and effort the character is devot¬
ing to learning all about poisons is not
going to be available for learning lan¬
guages or other skills. However, you might
allow the character to purchase extra slots
for improving the proficiency once it has
been bought, but only if the character has
no other slots available and the profi¬
ciency score is not raised above 16. The
proficiency might allow the character to
do one or more of the following, at the
DM's option: concoct any poison on the
DMG'S poison table (see previous question);
create entirely new poisons; prepare poi¬
son antidotes; recognize the "poison poten¬
tial" in any plant, animal, or mineral
encountered; recognize a poison by its
effect on a victim.

The DM must control such a proficiency
very carefully to maintain play balance.
Manufacturing poisons should be a long
and difficult process (check the section on
potion manufacture in the DMG, page 87).
Making poison under field conditions

result in at least a chance for the poison
maker to poison himself ("Ouch! I've just
nicked myself with the knife I used to skin
that tree frog."). Many poisons, particularly
the very potent ones, should have a "shelf
life" and would thus lose potency over
time. They also might be destroyed when
exposed to heat, cold, light, or electricity.
Note that poisons are very dangerous to
store ("Fine, your thief is carrying that
batch of puffer-fish venom in a leather
bladder on his belt. But did he remember
to wash his hands before eating?").

The current proficiency system works
fine with the original AD&D game rules.
You can use this new proficiency, and any
other one, with no modifications at all.

What abilities does the caster of a
polymorph self spell gain when he
assumes a new form? I understand
that the spell-caster gets the new
form's movement but not its attacks.
What about extraordinary movement
such as tunneling or phasing? What
about types of movement that might
double as attacks? For instance, can
a wizard polymorphed into a giant
frog leap onto an opponent?

Basically, the polymorph self spell grants
the caster the adopted form's shape and

ordinary locomotion. The spell does not
grant the adopted form's special attacks,
senses, or magical abilities. The caster is
not granted enough strength to perform
extraordinary maneuvers, and the DM
must decide where to draw the line when
deciding what abilities the caster does get.
In your example, a caster who assumed
the form of a giant frog would be able to
swim and hop about, but would not have a
frog's all-around vision or full use of the
creature's remarkable tongue. It is reason¬
able to deny the caster the ability to make
spectacular leaps, as the spell description
specifically limits the caster to "normal"
movement. However, a frog's form is well
suited to jumping, and the occasional long
hop isn't out of the ordinary for a frog.

The caster could jump, but he probably
wouldn't have the strength or coordina¬
tion to make very long jumps (a reduction
of one-half or one-third would be about
right—60-90' for a person polymorphed
into a 50-lb. giant frog) or to make several
leaps in succession. The caster certainly
can belly flop onto opponents; resolve
such attacks using the wrestling table (see
the DMG, page 59). Similarly, a caster who
changed into an umber hulk would have a
very limited ability to burrow through
solid rock. A caster who took the form of
a phase spider would get the ability to

should require a substantial penalty, and
failure under any circumstances should

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"Forum" welcomes your comments and opinions
on role-playing games. In the United States and
Canada, write to: Forum, DRAGON® Magazine,
P.O. Box 111, Lake Geneva WI53147, U.S.A. In
Europe, write to: Forum, DRAGON Magazine,
TSR Ltd, 120 Oiurch End, Qierry Hinton,
Cambridge CB1 3LB, United Kingdom. We ask
that material submitted to "Forum" be either
neatly written by hand or typed with a fresh
ribbon and clean keys so we can read and
understand your comments.

Gregg Sharp's reasoning in July's "Forum" is a
bit off. Wizards would not necessarily oppose
the introduction of gunpowder weaponry. This
is a commonly held belief (and an RPG staple
heavily promoted by game designers unwilling
to write up rules for spells vs. bullets), but then
look at how many people think that the Earths
rotation causes its gravity.

Guns, as he points out, are known as equaliz¬
ers. The dainty school marm could easily take
down the vicious outlaw with a derringer.
Envision the following miniature: "98-pound
weakling mage with flintlock pistol." Not all that
disconcerting an image. I'd say. From the wiz¬
ards viewpoint, he can do some undercover
work and memorize the divination spell to get
information rather than a combat spell, because
a couple of pistols in his robes makes up for it.

Powder-making would definitely fall into the
sphere of the alchemists' guild, an organization
with strong ties to mages. The mage who com¬
mands troops would want his forces equipped
with such weapons rather than trying to keep
them out of everyone's hands.

More to the point, guns are less dangerous to
wizards than swords and polearms. Shield and
protection from normal missiles spells would
stop a bullet from harming the spell-caster,
while melee weapons are quite effective against
these low-level defensive spells.

Fire-based spells are devastating against
characters carrying powder. Come to think of it,
so are water-based spells.

Gregg also overestimates the ability of a world
to make technological breakthroughs. All it
takes to make a Yankee Clipper is wood, nails,
rope, creosote, and a few hundred other items,
all of which were known to ancient Egyptian
shipbuilders. This is why, a few decades after
they first made seagoing vessels, the Egyptians
had clippers, sailed throughout the world, and
conquered the lands they found as a matter of
course, so Thebes ruled every square inch of
the planet for millennia.

Oh, you mean that having all the pieces of a
jigsaw puzzle doesn't mean the puzzle gets
solved? That the rule of Pharaoh was long over
by the time the technical problems had been

worked out? That maybe, just maybe, munitions
research and development will take as long to
develop in an AD&D game world as it did in our
own (or perhaps longer, if the assumption that
resources spent on magical research delay
scientific progress is correct)?

In theory, nations that have been operating as
long as those in some campaigns ought to be far
more technologically advanced than they are.
Five-thousand-year-old dwarven empires ought
to have gotten well past our current technology,
not be several centuries behind us.

The cynic might point out that this situation
exists because of the game designer. However,
might not the gods be at work here?

Powder research is dangerous enough. Add a
little divine sabotage to retard the pace of
weapons development, and it might be 10,000
years before a society with matchlocks gets
around to gatling guns.

S. D. Anderson
Whittier CA

In issue #159, Dan Howarth wrote in to say
that computers are going to be a part of this
world. This basic idea I agree with, and I also
enjoy playing fantasy computer games such as
The Bard's Tale. The idea that computers as GMs
are equal to or even better than humans is
harder to swallow. And a statement like, "Plenty

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of imagination can be used while playing a good
computer RPG" is in need of challenging.

By definition, the computer program can
allow one to do only what has been allowed for
by the programmers. Have you ever tried to
write a module detailing contingencies for every
possible or probable character action? That is
one good reason to have GMs: They have the
spontaneity and common sense to deal with a
player's desires. How can you tell a computer
you want to use a stinking cloud spell defen¬
sively instead of offensively, or that you want to
try a different bargaining tactic, or that you
want to tie up a prisoner with your whip and
ask him who he works for, what his job is, what
his boss is up to, and who the new king in
Carminos is?

Computer games, in my experience, are fun
for fighting monsters, hoarding treasure, and
maybe solving some brain bogglers that have
been programmed in. Games like Ultima V that
include limited conversation go slightly beyond
this level, but there is no way you could tell the
computer you wanted to set up a bar in one
town in order to bring in rumors and keep a
close watch on a citizen you suspect of murder,
while paying a beggar to bring in news from an
adjacent town, just in case. This would be a very
easy thing to do in a regular campaign world.
Computer games work only along set lines.

In an actual campaign with a human GM,
when the players go off following a false lead,
the GM might remember and insert a plot he
saw in a movie. In the middle of this side adven¬
ture, the party gets into a fight with ores in a
lark alley. One adventurer wants to fly over the
ores and land on one. Another casts light on the
inside of his mouth, opens wide, and tells the

ores to flee or face the wrath of the great de¬
mon Tsek'corfath. The third adventurer hefts
his shield and wants to pin an ore to the wall.

The GM can deal with all of these creative ideas
quickly and readily. Depending on how play has
gone so far, the amount of caffeine he has
recently consumed, and countless other factors,
the DM could decide almost anything. The
computer would flash up on the screen, "How
do I 'Let's fly over the ores and land on one?' "

So much for that idea.

One's relationship with one's character is part
of the interaction in the game, of course, as
stated in Mr. Howarth's letter. Interaction with
the other players and characters adds another
dimension to the game. ("That %&*@#?! kender
glued my sword into my sheath again!") In a
game like The Bard’s Tale, all fighters fight, hour
after hour, and I really can't see how you can
identify with the distinct vacancy where a
personality should be. In a game like Ultima TV,
one has a personality, but if one wishes to win
the game, the personality must be a perfect one
and therefore the same as the next person's,
and the next, leaving only small room for role-
playing in comparison to a regular game.

I would like to say again that I enjoy computer
games, as each is a complete world different
from the next, and there are some very interest¬
ing problems and creatures in each. However, I
feel that they fulfill an entirely different need
than actual participation in an RPG.

Toby Myers
Hamilton NY

I agree with your editorial on "Ten Good
Things About Demons" in issue #157. They are
the baddest of the bad. I am a mother, and I for

one would like to see one of these "Angry Moth¬
ers" [see "The Game Wizards,” issue #154] try to
play a paladin and see if she could stay on the
straight and narrow path without messing up,
as I have seen the kids do. I mean, you [TSR]
took the best reason for a paladin character to
exist and threw it out the window over some
narrow-minded mothers with no control over
their kids. You can put the undead to rest only
so many times before it gets boring. Yes, there
are other evils to conquer, but the cream to a
paladin's career is the ultimate evil: a major
devil or demon.

I became interested in the D&D game and the
AD&D game when my oldest child was seven
and wanted to play this role-playing game called
"Dungeons and Dragons." Well, I bought the
beginner boxed set, and we both learned to¬
gether with the help of my husband. I now DM
a game once a week for my husband and our
friends; sometimes its just the family with the
youngest now playing. If parents take active
parts in their kids' likes and dislikes, they may
find a tool with which to teach their kids morals
and right from wrong instead of trying to blame
a big company for their own shortcomings.

I was upset when I learned that there weren't
going to be any demons and devils for the
AD&D 2nd Edition game. I was looking forward
to some new nasties from the lower planes.
Couldn't you go ahead and put out a Monstrous
Compendium appendix of just demons and
devils, and print a warning label on the outside
of the package? That way, if these mad mothers
don't want their children to have it, then they
just don't let them buy it. And if they haven't
the control over their childrens' buying, then it's
their own problem and no one else's. Please take

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DRAGON 37

my idea under serious consideration. Thank you
for your time and trouble.

Jeannine Cochran
Edwards AFB CA

I write chiefly in regard to a couple of ideas
within "Forum" of issue #155. The first one is
Gregg Sharp's excellent idea of incorporating
Japanimation into campaigns. Many gamers are
also involved in Japanimation, with the explo¬
sion of giant robots into facets of gaming, com¬
ics, television, and collectibles. However,
Japanimation remains a mystery to all but the
stoutest of fans. Therefore, I commend Mr.

Sharp for his well-written and helpful thoughts.
He mentioned anime that I'm not familiar with.

I can't speak for all coasts, but up here in
Massachusetts we've got some new anime clubs,
including the Boston Japanimation Society that
meets regularly on the campus of UMASS
Amherst. And, concerning the other coast,
every fan dreams of attending a BAYCON.
Anyway, I'd like to clear something up concern¬
ing transformable mecha and RPG robots: Who
came first, and who was "inspired" by whom?

The original version of Robotech (or as close
as one can get because the original was in fact
three different Japanese series) in RPG form
was produced by R. Talsorian Games and was
called the MEKTON* game. Now there is a
revised MEKTON II* game. Then Palladium
came along and started marketing the official
ROBOTECH* RPG. Palladium produces a lot
more material than R. Talsorian, advertises
more, and even sells/distributes videotapes of
Robotech (The Sentinels). With little doubt.
Palladium's game is the American giant-
transformable-mecha RPG.

Then FASA came into play with giant robots
called 'Mechs. However, they do not transform,
so they're not really like "robotechnology" at all.
What I want to clarify is Mr. Sharp's statement
that series like Gundam (Mobile Suit Gundam,
War in the Pocket, ZZ Gundam, Char's Counter¬
attack, et al.), which use giant robots, "have
suspicious similarities to BATTLETECH game
'Mechs." The truth is, Japanimation came first.
Giant robots have been on Japanese cartoons
for more than a decade, and the designs by
their creators are more than two decades old in
some cases.

I would also like to mention the Captain
Harlock series, because it's great for science-
fiction campaigns in which giant space cruisers
and battleships soar through the sea of stars.

The film Vengeance of the Space Pirate (the
Japanese version is My Youth in Arcadia) specifi¬
cally deals with Harlock's rebellion against an
Earth taken over by an alien race. The series
Captain Harlock and the Queen of a Thousand
Years deals with his fight against an alien race
that is trying to take over Earth as well as
against a blundering Earth government that
refuses to believe the aliens even exist. Harlock
is a pirate sworn to his own flag and dedicated
to defending Earth; he is denounced by the
government and legally is a criminal.

Kildare Bangore
Webster MA

I'd like to thank Alex Iwanow for his wonder¬
ful letter to "Forum" in issue #157. I am often
worried that, when I go to any big tournament,
someone will blame every mistake in the game
on me. I wish all gamers would realize that
younger people enjoy playing, too, and are often

just as good or better than some of the older
gamers. I'm only 13 but have played D&D
games for a long while. I began to play the
AD&D game after about two months of playing
the D&D game. I also play TOP SECRET/S.I.™,
BOOT HILL®, GAMMA WORLD®, BATTLE-
TECH*, ROBOTECH*, and other games, so it's
not like I don't know how to role-play.

So thank you, Mr. Iwanow, for defending us
younger gamers.

Patrick E. Baroco, Jr.

Centreville VA

We are writing to express our feelings about
the absurd suggestion that children should not
play the AD&D game. We have been playing
since we were seven years old.

Our Dungeon Master is very creative, but his
campaigns are not too complicated. It is our aim
to become Dungeon Masters when we are old
enough. We don't think this game is too violent
for children-at least it doesn't have to be. Our
parents agree with us.

We all agree that the AD&D game expands
children's imagination and creativity, and it
helps develop self-expression and builds self-
confidence.

Thank you.

Leah Carson, age 11
Sarah Carson, age 10
Jason Kondrk, age 11
Hopelawn NJ

* indicates a product produced by a company other
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AriworK by Jim Holloway

The

Voyage

of the „

PrimcesS

ARK

Part 11: The return home . . . almost

by Bruce A. Heard

This series chronicles the adventures of
an Alphadan explorer and his crew as
they journey across the D&D® Known
World in their skyship. The information
herein may he used to expand the D&D
campaigns using the Gazetteer series.

[iHOFn CtKjOMRMAiiOr

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LobO AS mi ml of ihe UTik^ixiki Cmpwit
CiPTAJn Of IK Gveft-VlCUMHOUS

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Alphamir 26, 2000 AY: The sound of
creaking wood slowly woke me, as the
solar winds softly rocked the Princess Ark.
I have slept little despite the long hours of
reflection and anguish that have followed
the last incredible events. I shivered in the
cold air and thought of what seemed to
have happened only a day ago.

Somehow, Synn had anticipated the
presence of a nebular storm near the
Hollow World's gate. It ripped the very
fabric of time, and the Princess fell
through. According to my estimations

based on the relative position of the stars,
we have jumped 34 years into our future.

I fear what may await us below, in our
new world.

I conjecture that the wretched dragon
waited all those years, meditating on her
revenge. Synn must have returned to
Myoshima exactly 34 years after abandon¬
ing the Heldannic wreck, recovered Lady
Abovombe from the Myoshiman gaol, and
returned her to the Princess Ark as the
ship emerged into this new era. The hap¬
less woman spent years in misery and
hardship, obviously thinking that I had
abandoned her to her captors.

I have a magical cure for Lady
Abovombe's current age, but I am afraid
that a much deeper wound may linger in
her heart—and mine. It pains me to think
that Lady Abovombe would doubt my
feelings toward her. I suppose this is what
that wretched Synn had in her twisted
mind all along. Such a hateful and gratui¬
tous act of cruelty speaks eloquently of the
night dragon's utter evil.

Not only this, but Myojo suffered greatly
during the last battle. The brave warrior
had followed Synn closely prior to her
treachery. He must have sensed her
wicked intentions and attempted to stop
the night dragon. But she turned against
him and easily defeated him. It took many
hours of praying and great skill from
Talasar to pull Myojo back from the very
threshold of death.

So be it. Rolf may be dead, but Synn has
replaced him as a foe that I must destroy.
But first, patience and time will be needed
to regain Lady Abovombe's heart. I must
find this elixir at once.

Alphamir 27: Again, Myojo's life came
close to an end. As I left my quarters on
my way to see Lady Abovombe, I noticed a

furtive shadow quickly entering Myojo's
cabin. I knew it couldn't be my feline
companion, since he was quite feeble and
still recovering. I crept up to the door as
quietly as I could—quietly for a wizard,
that is.

Three intruders were in Myojo's cabin,
dressed in black from head to toe. One
was poised to strike at Myojo's chest with
a short sword. The two others spotted me
and threw curious little metal stars at me.
One got stuck in the wooden door, while
the other grazed my throat. Almost in¬
stantly I spoke a command word, and my
wand disintegrated one of the two, who
shrivelled into a lifeless form. Unfortu¬
nately, the deadly discharge also damaged
the wooden bulkhead beyond.

Immediately, a roar rocked the Princess,
almost as if the ship had felt the blow
from my wand. Myojo woke up and in¬
stinctively stabbed at the closest of his foes
with a hidden dagger, while both myself
and the other intruder lost our footing. A
short scuffle followed, and my opponent
ran down the passageway. He didn't go far
however, as Talasar stepped out of his
quarters and magically held the intruder.
About the same time I heard some fighting
on the main deck, followed by the familiar
"zap-crack" sounds of boltmen at work.

The intruders were Myoshiman rakas-
tas. Another two intruders had freed
Kenju and Jiro from the brig, but they
were all intercepted on the deck. All died
except the one Talasar paralysed and the
one Myojo wounded. According to Myojo,
these are trained and highly skillful assas¬
sins, probably sent by Lord Katayama.
Alerted by the recent disappearance of
Lady Abovombe from their gaol, the
Myoshimans must have dispatched their
scouts to seek us out.

The two survivors would not utter a
word, but there are ways to pry informa¬
tion out with a little talent and magic. The
tall, wounded survivor was Uisuka-San,
chief of his clan of assassins. The other
was his daughter, Kitikata. It was a stroke
of luck that I left my quarters just as the
rakastas had entered Myojo's cabin, or else
my companion would certainly have been
quite dead by now.

I, however, released the two with a
message to Lord Katayama. I informed the
lord that Herr Rolf of the Heldannic
Knights had been killed 34 years ago, and
that his own envoys Kenju and Jiro had
acted treacherously. One should not hope
to acquire Imperial friendship with a gift
in one hand and a dagger in the other. The
two bowed abruptly and flew away on a
black-moth ship that blended swiftly into
the night.

Alphamir 28:1 met Lady Abovombe
again. I found her lying near the crystal
bay, sadly gazing at the stars. She turned
and watched me silently, with an expres¬
sion of resignation in her eyes. Conversa¬
tion was difficult, interrupted by many
uncomfortably quiet pauses. I am not sure
she truly understands what has happened.

After all, only our appearance could testify
to the time lapse.

I offered her my elixir, one of those
potions that rejuvenates one's body by 10
years—but she refused to drink it. She
firmly believed what had happened was
the will of the Immortals. I advanced the
argument that Immortals care little, and
their will is more often than not that of
the mortals. But the thought failed to
comfort her, and she still showed reluc¬
tance to drink the elixir. There was little
else I could do and so retired to my quar¬
ters. Time had betrayed her, yet time
perhaps would heal her sorrow.

Sulamir 1: At last, the familiar coast¬
line of Alphatia could be observed
through the clouds. Everyone was very
tense on board. The news of our time
shift had reached the crew. Talasar was
skillful in explaining the situation to all—
their relatives in the Empire would now
be dead, much older, or have mostly
forgotten about them. Worse, they ran
the risk of being arrested for impersonat¬
ing people thought dead for decades. It
will be difficult for the crew to under¬
stand and adapt. For my part, I am wor¬
ried as to what may have happened
during the last third century.

The answer came swiftly as we ap¬
proached the aerodrome over Sundsvall.
Three imperial skyships raced toward us.
This, at least, had not changed. As ex¬
pected of the aerodrome's Crimson Guard,
they spotted our invisible ship and reacted
swiftly. I ordered the Haaken colors to be
hoisted, along with a parliamentary ban¬
ner. Two of the crimson airships flanked
the Princess while a squad of guards re¬
quested to come aboard. Much to every¬
one's surprise, the guards arrested both
Talasar and me. We were immediately
taken to the imperial dungeon under the
palace. A chill ran down my spine at the
thought of going to this ghastly place, but
we had to cooperate in order to see this
through.

Sulamir 14:1 was finally granted a
meeting with the Empress, as befitted my
rank. Curiously, the palace had changed
very little during all that time. The guards,
the customs, and the court were all nearly
identical to what I was accustomed to,
except that many of my friends were now
long dead. One that was still alive did not
recognize me.

I was quickly ushered into the immense
Throne Room. The Empress sat a mere 60'
from me. Of course, the guards had been
exceedingly thorough in stripping me of
my personal belongings. I had also been
duly "processed" by the court's magists to
ensure that none of my magic could harm
the Empress in any way. From where I
kneeled, I could see a glimmer of magic
encasing the Empress. That was new.

The Empress observed me, and I hated
it. She wasn't merely studying me. She
was steadily and progressively exposing
my inner self, almost as casually as one
would peel a fruit. She was browsing

through my mind and memories with all
the delicacy of a gardener's rake.

"Release him," she ordered abruptly. "He
is not guilty. Leave us alone." The guards
left swiftly and closed the doors behind
them.

"That was quite a journey. Admiral," she
began. "Too bad you lost all that time. Your
presence and knowledge would have been
useful many years ago."

I was relieved to see that the initial
enmity was gone. "May I know what I was
accused of. Your Imperial Majesty?"

She smiled briefly, but her eyes re¬
mained ice cold. "Simply of attempting an
assassination on the person of the Heldan¬
nic Order's High Priest! I believe you knew
him as Herr Rolf. When you seek trouble,
you certainly are thorough in your quest.
Admiral." Seeing the expression on my
face, she immediately added "Yes, yes, I
know you did not do it. Amazingly, how¬
ever, I see from your memories that the
man did indeed die!"

Something was amiss. How could they
have known? There were no survivors
other than the prisoners still in our brig.
The Empress sighed, motioning me to
come closer and sit near her. "But how?" I
asked.

"My dear Admiral, all isn't so simple. The
ruler of the Heldannic Order died twenty-
one years ago—while you were absent
from the normal flow of history. Wulf von
Klagendorf, the one you know as Herr
Rolf, succeeded him and became the High
Priest. Clearly, someone brought Rolf back
to life after his death, which you wit¬
nessed thirty-four years ago. Since that
creature of Entropy, Synn, killed him,

Herr Rolf must have had some ties with
Entropic Immortals. Or else something
very strange must be happening 'up there.'
The Heldannic Knights are followers of
Vanya, who is not a lord of Entropy. It's a
bad omen, in any case.

"You see, no one here at the palace could
find any trace of you, even through the
most powerful magic available. The only
news about your expedition came shortly
after Herr Rolf became the High Priest in
Freiburg. An envoy came and declared
you had attempted to kill their High Priest
and that you were in hiding. Of course, I
know the true story now—as amazing as it
is. You do understand, however, that you
and your men must avoid any prolonged
stay anywhere and with anyone. Your
knowledge of the sky shield and most
especially of that strange Hollow World
must remain absolutely secret. Few would
believe you, but this knowledge is far too
dangerous to fall in the wrong ears.

"Now you have a choice. Admiral: Either
leave and carry on your initial endeavor in
the name of the Empire, or all of your
crew, officers, and civilians on board must
perish at once. Then I will deal with you
and your first officer in my own ways."

I had no wish to ask what that may be,
and I quickly nodded agreement with the
first option.

DRAGON 43

"Very well, then. Carry on. Admiral.

Your ship, or whatever you call that thing,
has been restocked. And please, do show
any Heldannic ships you encounter what a
true Alphatian wizard can do. Those
knights annoy me. Farewell."

Sulamir 15: Bitterness, bitterness:

That was all I could see in their eyes. The
crew had been under order to remain
aboard above Sundsvall during the days of
my confinement. None were allowed to
disembark at any time, and now I bore the
news of our imminent departure. For a
moment I thought we would have a mu¬
tiny on our hands, but my harangue
seemed to have some effect. The older
crew members returned to their duties,
some muttering, others showing outright
anger in their movements and words. The
younger sailors followed.

Suddenly, a sailor broke into tears. He
screamed and ran for a small floating
launch. Before anyone could react, the
young man was already floating down
toward Sundsvall. A single crimson frigate
swooped by; much to everyone's horror, a
blast of lightning shot forth. The man fell
off the launch's remains and tumbled like
a rag doll toward the distant earth. A
deathly silence descended upon the crew.
Slowly, one after the other, they returned
to their quarters. That was all.

Sulamir 19:1 had no immediate plans
to leave for anywhere, not with the crew's
miserable morale. I opted for a quick stop
incognito at Starpoint. We stopped due
north of the city above a small forest.
Unseen, the crew left in shifts, all wearing
civilian outfits and carrying copious gold
to spend, courtesy of the Princess's trea¬
sury. This took five days. I must admit I
never saw a crew as drunk as this one! But
that was worth every pop of a cork. None
of them deserted. They knew they would
not last long in metropolitan Alphatia.
Perhaps they feared me even more, for
they all knew I could easily find any of
them. The crew was mostly Amburese,
and that stop in Starpoint went a long way
toward improving morale.

Sulamir 25:1 paid a short visit to my
kin in nearby Ar. They were overjoyed to
see me again, but were appalled at what
had happened. All was fine at the family
domain. They quietly hoped that I would
someday, somehow, come back and settle
there for good. That would not be for a
long time yet. I gathered a few of my
favorite objects, then returned to the
Princess.

In the evening, while unpacking, I acci¬
dentally triggered an item of my making.
The thing had never been fully completed
nor properly enchanted. It popped. It
hissed. It rattled. And by the beard of
Pligzy Gladz, it smoked like the nostrils of
a sleeping dragon! Soon the room was
filled with a luminescent, swirling fog.
That's when I heard something heavy rip
loose from the overhead beam and crash
to the floor.

The smoke cleared—and there was

Ramissur! Wide-eyed, the man was on all
fours—naked as a worm, mind you—
holding a piece a fruit in one hand and
with a foot tangled up in what was left of
my bat's cage. He sniffed, squeaked, and
scurried over to the other end of the
room. All that time my bat had been none
other than Ramissur himself! Why am I
not surprised?

Talasar did wonders in bringing back the
human side of Ramissur. The boltman had
been under Synn's control, acting as her
eyes and ears all along. The crew wel¬
comed him back. By now, nothing could
surprise them either.

Indeed, that would end a chapter of our
saga. After the latest events, it was time
for the Princess to head for other hori¬
zons, and the sooner the better. The sun
was setting, and once again we headed out
under the stars.

To be continued. . . .

If you have any comments regarding this
column or the D&D game's Known World
as designed in the Gazetteers, please send
your inquiries to: Bruce A. Heard, D&D
Column, TSR, Inc., P.O. Box 756, Lake
Geneva WI 53147, U.S.A. We cannot guar¬
antee that all letters will get answers, but
they always get our attention.

Haldemar of Haaken

(Admiral, Captain of the Princess

Ark)

History: Haldemar was born in 1911
AY, of pure Alphatian blood, in the King¬
dom of Ar. He was raised in the tradition
of aristocratic spell-casters and spent
many years of his childhood with his
uncle, a famous skyship owner in Ar. For
his tenth birthday, Haldemar was offered a
small flying sailboat, with which he got
himself into trouble at every occasion.

As a teenager, Haldemar became the
family's accountant. He was brilliant but
tremendously bored, and over the years
he developed a propensity for investments
of a highly speculative nature to spice up
his life. One financial venture brought
great anger from his elders when he
nearly squandered his entire family's
fortune on a bad investment. Although not
disinherited, he was promptly cast out of
his home.

His taste for adventure and gambling
brought him aboard a flying casino in
1933 AY. His nerve allowed him to acquire
the ship from its previous owner on a
successful wager. The games were rigged,
but Haldemar—a hustler at heart—used his
magical skills (which he had concealed
when he came aboard) to turn the situa¬
tion to his advantage at the pool table. His
skill and experience of things aerial en¬
abled him to embark on a career of excel¬
lence on his flying casino, where he met a
number of very influential nobles. He
quickly learned to deal with the Alphatian
society's upper crust.

A pack of greedy young dragons once
attacked his ship, seeking wealth, but he
successfully repelled the air raid when he
organized the defense of the gambling
palace. Although the flying casino was
seriously damaged, he managed to bring it
to a place where his aristocratic passen¬
gers were out of danger.

Soon after this episode, he was intro¬
duced to Emperor Tylion IV, who granted
him the command of a small flying frigate.
Haldemar sold the damaged casino at a
profit and began his duty right after that.
Haldemar proved to be an outstanding
commander during the 1959 war against
Thyatis, and he collected an impressive list
of treasures. His long career in the Imperial
Navy eventually led him to the rank of
Admiral in 1961 AY. He retired shortly
afterward to avoid life at the palace—which
he found too dull for his taste—and re¬
turned to the family tower with his trea¬
sure (and his family's renewed blessings).

He spent a number of years at the family
tower, improving his magical skills. After
studying a mysterious and ancient scroll
he had acquired during the war, he used a
one-of-a-kind enchantment to bind the soul
of a sky wyrm (see later) to the hull of the
family ship, the aging Princess Ark. Al¬
though he did not fully grasp the nature
and implications of the enchantment,
Haldemar thus imbued the entire ship
with the ability to fly, rather than using an
inordinate amount of separate fly enchant¬
ments on all surfaces of the ship. This
allowed the Princess Ark to fly despite
heavy damage to its hull, unlike conven¬
tional warships.

Haldemar came out of retirement in
1964 AY after presenting his new flying
enchantment to Empress Eriadna. She
rewarded Haldemar with a commission in
the Imperial Fleet and bestowed upon him
the mission to explore distant new lands
for the benefit of the empire. Empress
Eriadna provided him with an official Writ
of Endorsement, allowing him to act as a
plenipotentiary with newly discovered
nations and to subsequently draw a per¬
sonal excise of 1% on all future trade with
each of these nations for 10 years.

Personality: Although a good-hearted
person, Haldemar betrays a naturally
chaotic attitude due to his family back¬
ground and national culture. Clever and
quick thinking, Haldemar is a good judge
of character and an effective leader. He
has proved many times to be a shrewd
and tenacious negotiator.

Haldemar seems conceited when it
comes to his physical appearance and
dressing habits. Some at the palace called
him a dandy, although Haldemar refrained
from any of his dressing excesses at court.
This is a facade he often uses to deceive
others. Cosmopolitan and refined, Halde¬
mar is also capable of numerous esca¬
pades. His talents as an actor allow him to
spontaneously mingle with common folk
without betraying his origins, and he can
move silently as a thief of equal level.

44 DECEMBER 1990

Occasionally whimsical with his peers or
his foes, Haldemar is fanciful in his way of
dealing with unexpected problems. He is
an imaginative and unpredictable aristo¬
crat who likes to do things with style. A
learned man and an adventurer, he seeks
to discover the marvels of the world and
bring them to his peers.

Disposition: Goodwill toward Talasar,
Lady Abovombe, and Xerdon; Neutral
toward Myojo, Leo, Ashari, Ramissur, and
Raman; Antipathy toward Tarias. Halde¬
mar is in love with Lady Abovombe—as
much as an elder Alphatian wizard and a
hardened bachelor can be.

Appearance: Haldemar is a typical
Alphatian, slim, proud, with long black
hair, pale skin, and deep blue eyes. He
keeps his hair neatly tied on the back of
his neck. A few gray hair on his temples
and wrinkles on his face betray his age of
51. When on duty on the Princess Ark,
Haldemar often wears knee-high boots,
dark blue pants and cloak, and a white,
laced shirt.

Equipment Carried: Haldemar's cloak
contains a number of secret pockets in
which he conceals magical items and mis¬
cellaneous objects. In addition to the cloak
and a few normal pouches, Haldemar
commonly carries a dagger +2 of watch¬
ing in his left sleeve, a small pouch of
security at his waist (capacity 200 cn—
containing an egg of wonder and a wand
of disintegration), a wand of fire balls (8d6
hp damage) in his right sleeve, a wand of
lightning bolts (8d6 hp damage) in his right
boot, a potion of healing (one dose) at his
belt, a ring of protection +3 on his left
hand, a scarab of protection on his cloak, a
sealed scroll of creation in the cloaks
lining, a talisman of air elemental conjur¬
ing around his neck, a few odd gems,
gambling tokens from the Lady Luck
Flying Casino (for good luck), and some
loose change. Other objects may be found
in his cabin on the Princess Ark, and even
more in his family estate in the Kingdom
of Ar.

Spells Commonly Memorized:

Haldemar has several spells of his own
invention that will be disclosed during a
later episode.

Level 1 -Detect magic, floating disk, light
(x2), shield, ventriloquism
Level 2 -Invisibility, knock (x2), phantas¬
mal force, web

Level 3 — Create air, dispel magic, haste, fly,
protection from normal missiles
Level 4 - Dimension door (x2), polymorph
self, remove curse, wizard eye
Level 5 — Animate dead, hold monster,
passwall, telekinesis

Level 6 - Geas, invisible stalker, projected
image, weather control
Level 7 -Magic door, reverse gravity, sum¬
mon object

Level 8 — Force field, travel
Level 9 -Contingency (20% chance) or
immunity

D&D Game Statistics: S 10, I 16, W

12, D 17, Co 11, Ch 15; 21st-level Wizard,

AC 4 (with Dex); hp 35; MV 120'(40'); #AT
1 (dagger +2 or spell); Dmg by weapon
type or spell; Save MU21; ML 10; AL C.
Languages: Common Alphatian, Ancient
Alphatian (for poetry and arcane lore), and
the Ambur dialect. Skills: Astronomy (In),
Finance and Accounting (In +1), Alchemy
(In), Gambling (Wi+3), Acting (Wi), Palace
Etiquette (Wi), Prestidigitation (Dx),
Helmsman/Captain (In).

Sky Wyrm

The sky wyrm is a very large elemental
from the plane of Air. The front half of the
lesser sky wyrm is that of a wildcat with
two powerful paws. Two large feathery
wings protrude from its back, while the
other half of the creature turns into a
long, coiling serpent's tail. The greater sky
wyrm has the paws and head of a lion
with a thick mane, being otherwise like its
smaller relative. All sky wyrms are made
of shimmering clouds and living air, with
an overall pearl color with light green
shadings.

Sky wyrms are highly intelligent and
magical, having the ability to create the
whirlwind common to conjured air ele¬
mental. At their option, sky wyrms may
use the claw-claw-bite combat routine
instead of the whirlwind. Lesser sky
wyrms can predict, summon, and control
weather and control winds at will. They
can cast the following spells once per day:
cloudkill, dimension door explosive cloud,
ice storm, and invisibility. They are im¬
mune to electrical attacks.

In addition, greater sky wyrms have the
normal spell-casting abilities of a 12th-level
wizard. They can also spit a lightning bolt
three times a day that is immediately
followed with a thunderous roar (save vs.
paralysis within a 300' X 100' cone). The
damage inflicted by the lightning bolt
equals the sky wyrm's current hit points.
This breath weapon cannot be used simul¬
taneously with any of the sky wyrm's
other attacks.

Sky wyrms are rare, even in the plane of

Air. They sometimes serve as mounts and
companions of greater djinn, but always of
their own free will. Sky wyrms do not get
along well with aerial servants and earth-
type creatures. Lesser sky wyrms abso¬
lutely hate spectral hounds and hell
hounds, and at best dislike all other dog¬
like creatures. Greater sky wyrms are
marginally more tolerant of canine-kind.
Sky wyrms are otherwise good willed
although neutrally aligned.

Talasar, Ecbashur

(Commander, 1st Officer of the
Princess Ark)

History: Talasar was bom and raised
as a Minaean pirate. At 13, Yodar Jemog
(Talasar's true name) scored his first suc¬
cess when he swam up to an Alphatian
merchantman and entangled its anchor in
nearby reefs. Minaean bandits on foot did
the rest at low tide. Talasar's early life
consisted of ruthless piracy, spreading
woe and destruction in his wake. His
Minaean name became feared on the
entire eastern Alphatian coast. He was
finally captured and condemned to be a
slave for life.

Eleven years later, he was sold back to
the Temple of Razud in Starpoint, Ambur.
The high priest was looking for strong
minds, and so put Talasar to the test. Tala¬
sar endured unspeakable rituals to atone
for his deeds. But he saw the light and
honestly embraced the Ways of Razud.
Talasar finally returned to the seas and the
skies, making his skills and wisdom availa¬
ble to the Imperial Navy. He keeps his

Continued on page 92

Errata

On the map on page 42, in DRAGON®
issue #161, the directions of east and
west were reversed on the Hollow
World side; thus, Devil’s Fork is east
of the White Peninsula.

Sky Wyrm

Lesser

Greater

ARMOR CLASS

- 2

-10

HIT DICE

16****

32*****

MOVE

60' (20')

Flying

360' (120')

ATTACKS

3 or special

Breath Area

nil

300"xl00' cone

Breath Effect

nil

Stun + lightning bolt

COMBAT DAMAGE

1-8/1-6/1-12

2 -16/2-16/2-24

Whirlwind

3-24

10-80

NO. APPEARING

1-4 (1-2)

1-2 (1)

SAVE AS

Fighter 16

Fighter 32

MORALE

TREASURE TYPE

Px20, I

RxlOO, I, M, N

ALIGNMENT

Neutral

XP VALUE

8,450

48,000

DRAGON 45

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LUr.

Megatraveller 1:

The Zhodani Conspiracy
(Paragon Software)

Megafun with MegaTmveller 1

Let's talk sound. Amiga, Atari ST, and
Macintosh II owners all possess computer
systems that play digitized sounds. These
sound capabilities are built into those
machines, and when these sounds are
incorporated into games, play is greatly
enhanced.

Pity then the PC/MS-DOS gamer: His
standard IBM or clone has a single, minute
speaker inside the computer case through
which comes beeps and squeals that do
little to enhance a game. After playing PC/
MS-DOS games for a while, one becomes
immune to the raucous noises that are
emitted.

Thankfully, many developers now pro¬
duce games that include a variety of sound
drivers for the various sound add-ons for
PC/MS-DOS computers. We've tested sev¬
eral of these add-ons, and our favorite is,
without a doubt, the fantastic Roland
MPU-IPC-T CPU card, with a CM-32L LA
(Linear Arithmetic) sound module and two
MA-12C Roland Micro Monitor speakers.

The MPU-IPC-T is the next generation of
sound boards from Roland and is fully
compatible with all software written for
the Roland MP-32 sound board. This unit
delivers as though you had a full stereo
and sound-effects system in your PC.

Second in our evaluation is the well-
designed AdLib board. The AdLib board
does not possess the wide range of music
and sound capabilities of the Roland
product line, but it does offer enhanced
sound capabilities for gamers.

Top-notch game publishers such as Si¬
erra, Origin, Accolade, LucasFilm, Micro-
Prose, Spectrum HoloByte, Electronic Arts,
and others now code their PC/MS-DOS
games with drivers for several sound-
enhancement boards, the two most popu¬
lar systems being the Roland and AdLib
boards. Other sound systems, such as
Covox and the IBM sound board, do not
have a large following yet.

The reason for Roland's superiority is
that this sound add-on operates using the

highly advanced MIDI (Musical Instru¬
ments Digital Interface) language, which
can be shared by all manner of musical
instruments. Most of the popular groups
recording music today do so using MIDI
between their instruments and the com¬
puter to record and enhance play. The
Roland board, be it the MPU-IPC-T or the
Roland MT-32, is actually its own com¬
puter; it interprets the messages from the
computer and translates them into MIDI.

The CM-32L LA module packs the ability
to produce 32 voices simultaneously. It
actually can be used as a rhythm sound
module with eight individual synthesizers.
It also stores 128 different instruments
sounds, 30 rhythm sounds, and 33 sound
effects. With this capability, a full-fledged
symphony orchestra can be created to lift
a game to new heights. The CM-32L LA
module also includes a reverberation that
adds a deep richness to the produced
sounds. When playing a game such as
Sierra's Colonel's Bequest, the once mildly

DRAGON 47

interesting animated cut scenes become
works of true cinematic art. The musical
background score and other digitized
sounds leave the gamer wanting to see
more scenes between the actual playing
modules.

You should consider the Roland MIDI
offerings if you are a fanatic gamer. Noth¬
ing equals its performance in a PC—
nothing. The Roland units are not
inexpensive, but they certainly do make a
marvelous gift for the gamer in your fam¬
ily. But watch out: You could become a
MIDI fanatic! We now have a Yamaha
keyboard and several software programs
that teach music and keyboarding. We can
use the Roland sound board and sound
modules for somewhat raucous playing.
We've even tried our hand at music com¬
position. Who knows how well we'll do in
a few more months with the help of Ro¬
land and its PC sound enhancement
products.

A caution: In PCs, various boards
cause conflicts. For example, we ha
board in our PC that drives an external
Macintosh disk drive. This enables us to
read and write Macintosh files with our
PC word processor. We also pack an asyn¬
chronous communications card, a joystick
card, a second graphics board, the AdLib
board, and a mouse board. Sometimes
you'll have to remove a board or change
the jumpers on one or two of your boards
to ensure the correct operation of a newly
installed board. In our case, we had to
remove the Macintosh drive board in
order for the Roland interface board to
work correctly.

We should also say a few words about
the AdLib board. Currently, far more
game designers are driving their sounds
and music using this device than any
other. The AdLib board is a half-size card
that fits into one of your PC's slots. In
order to hear its output, you need a head¬
set or speakers plugged into the boards
audio jack. The AdLib board features as
many as 11 simultaneous sounds and is
approximately half the cost of the Roland
offering. However, when it comes to PC
sound enhancements, you really do get
what you pay for. The AdLib board does
not approach the Roland product in sound
richness, variety, or quality. Prices for
these units vary throughout the country.

Reviews

Computer games'

ratings

Not recommended

poor

* *

Fair

***

Good

****

Excellent

*****

Superb

Paragon Software

600 Rugh Street
Greensburg PA 15601
(412) 838-1166

MegaTraveller 1: The Zhodani
Conspiracy

PC/MS-DOS version $59.95

We have had the opportunity to experi¬
ence both the earliest and the latest ver¬
sions of Mega Traveller 1, and we are
extremely happy to report that Paragon
Software has corrected a major deficiency
in the early release. Paragon has created
one of the best science-fiction role-playing
games ever for the computer. If you have
played Game Designers' Workshop's
MEGATRAVELLER™ system, you'll find
that this computer version faithfully fol¬
lows that RPG. You'll never have to wait
for a group of fellow gamers in order to
hunt for the traitor, Konrad Kiefer, and
stop the Zhodani conspiracy.

The Paragon game, although complex,
encompasses a smooth and colorful inter¬
face that eases a newcomer's entry into
this action-filled environment. Not only
will you become embroiled in encounters
and battles on various planets, but your
journeys through space will have you
wheeling, dealing, and fighting every¬
where from planetary orbits to hyper¬
space jumps. MegaTraveller 1 offers so
much detail that a single review cannot do
this game justice.

Before we delve into some of the game's
characteristics, we'll get the only negative
thing we have to say out of the way. The
only time you can save your game is when
you have landed at a starport. This is
really quite burdensome at times. There
should be a single hot-key command that
can save your game at any stage in the
adventure. You might complete a number
of critically important actions since the

last starport save, only to be destroyed by
an unexpected attack or turn of events.

Not being able to save at different stages
throughout the game can cause you to
become quite frustrated.

The level of detail in Mega Traveller 1 is
most impressive. The level of personal
attachment you have for your five charac¬
ters increases as you play the adventure.
And don't expect to complete Mega Travel¬
ler 1 in a few weeks. With planetary sys¬
tems, assassins, trading, and combat, it'll
be a wonder if you can find time to eat
dinner.

As mentioned, the character-creation
process is an absolute treat. You need five
highly skilled characters to be successful
in the quest. The computer's character¬
making system follows faithfully the
paper-and-pencil version in GDW's RPG. In
fact, characters you create in the software
version are highly playable in the RPG
version.

Your five characters are ex-military
personnel who must save the Imperium
against the conspiracy of the Zhodani and
the traitor. Each character should have
special skills that can come into play at
various stages of the game. You'll go ad¬
venturing in both space and on planets
whose atmospheres range from hostile to
Earthlike, so a variety of talents will be
needed.

MegaTraveller 1 is basically a menu-
driven game. Through use of your cursor
keys or an optional joy stick, you select the
proper commands. Those who want to
rush into the game can use any of the
prerolled characters on the MegaTraveller
1 disks. For character generation, you are
taken to a screen where pre-set character
abilities are randomly assigned a value.
These values are in hexadecimal notation,
which means that values from 10 to 15 are
displayed as letters A to E respectively

48 DECEMBER 1990

(e.g.., if a character has a "B" for endur¬
ance, that is an 11). We made it a general
rule to never accept a character who
didn't have at least three scores of A (10)
or better and no scores below 7.

Our first set of characters required no
less than four hours to create. This time
not only included making certain their
ability roles were appropriate, but ensur¬
ing their military training and schooling
met the need for diverse s kills . We went
through 18 generated characters just to
obtain the finest pilot we could.

Once your ability scores are set, you
must decide to either enlist your character
in one of the five services or allow him to
be drafted. The Navy and the Merchants
are the hardest services to enter, while the
Army and Scouts are the easiest. Promo¬
tions are fastest in the Army but nonexist¬
ent in the Scouts, and survival rates are
lowest in the Marines. (We recommend
that each of your five characters come
from a different branch of the military.)
The higher your rank and the longer your
service, the greater the amount of your
retirement pay. Also, upon discharge or
retirement from the service, you earn
additional benefits.

When in the military, the number of
skills a character receives is determined
by his service. You'll receive one skill for
each term served, except for Scouts, who
receive two skills for each term of service.
You'll also receive an additional skill for a
promotion. For special duty assignments,
another additional skill is received. Re¬
member that when you submit your char¬
acter to a service, he will automatically
learn some basic skills. If your education
score is eight or higher, you'll be able to
select skills from the Advanced Education
Table. We never allowed a character to be
created who did not possess a score of at
least eight in Education.

The adventure finds your five charac¬
ters in a bar, where they are contacted by
a Transom agent. She is a special investiga¬
tor for Sharushid Megacorporation and
names Konrad Kiefer as a traitor. He is
planning to aid the Zhodanis in a surprise
attack against the Imperium that could
lead to yet another destructive Frontier
war. She hands the group a decoding key,
a holographic data-storage device, and
one-half of an Imperial seal. She tells you
that these objects must get to a bar called
the Supernova on the planet Boughene
and be given to Arik Toryan. In return,
he'll hand you a second decoder key and
more instructions. You also receive 30,000
credits from the agent, who tells you that
a starship. The Interloper, in the starport
possesses a Jump-1 drive. However, in
order to reach Boughene, you've got to fit
a Jump-2 drive—and believe us, there's a
lot of adventuring ahead before you can
even begin to think about a Jump-2 drive.

Suddenly, a disreputable gang surrounds
your table, and it's time to save your skins.
The agent distracts the gang, and your five
characters quickly exit the bar—where

Flood (Bullfrog Productions)

you come under fire! This is where the
one major problem arose in the earlier
version of this game, but that has now
been solved. Combat was in real time.
While you flipped from character to char¬
acter, trying to get each individual to select
and fire at a target, the opposition contin¬
ually shot and hit your party members.
While you were coordinating party mem¬
ber #l's actions, poor old party members
#2 through #5 were stationary and getting
clobbered. Now you simply use the tab
key to identify your character's target.
Once the target cursor is over your target,
you hit enter. You then cycle through the
remaining characters, identifying the same
or other targets for each individual. Now,
no hostile fire destroys your painstakingly
created characters. Once you've issued all
the orders, you press the O key and the
action takes place.

Our strongest recommendation is that
you Regroup your party once it comes
under fire. Rim like heck to the right and
find sanctuary in the shops you'll locate.
Equip your starship: Buy a better weapons
system, and get those computer programs
that must be loaded before your ship can
accomplish much of anything. We'll cer¬
tainly be offering tips in "Clue corner" for
this massive adventure during the coming
months.

One additional proviso: Make certain the
joy stick you use is calibrated correctly. If
you use a joy stick and it malfunctions,
you might as well reboot. You won't be
able to make the menu selections you
want, as the cursor will jump all over the
selection screen.

If you own a PC/MS-DOS machine, con¬
sider yourself a moderately experienced
gamer, and enjoy science-fiction RPGs,

Mega Traveller 7 is a purchase you must
consider mandatory. If a hot-key, save-
game feature was added, there's no doubt

that Mega Traveller 1 would become infi¬
nitely more attuned to a gamer's needs.
Hang on to your Jump drives; Mega Travel¬
ler 1 is a great offering.

Bullfrog Productions

(distributed by Electronic Arts)
1820 Gateway Drive
San Mateo CA 94404
(415) 571-7171

Atari ST version $39.95

So, you want arcade action that will
require hours and hours to eventually
succeed? Then you've got to try Flood. The
game's premise is a little weird. You're
Quiffy, a Blobbie, and Bulbous Headed
Vongs and Psycho Teddies are intent on
wiping out all Blobbies. Not only are these
vicious warmongers trying to pounce on
Quiffy, but millions of gallons of water are
also pouring into the caverns where he
lives. As Quiffy and his kind cannot
breathe water, there's trouble ahead.

Quiffy must explore each cavern and
collect all the trash on that level. Once a
level has been cleared of trash, he can
move on to the next level. There are 36
regular levels and six special levels built by
the Vongs, all guaranteed to drive your
joy-stick-using, sweaty-palmed self bon¬
kers. Add in creatures like the Ghost,
Vacuous Gombos, Snails (though slow, they
cause damage unmercifully), and Plonkin
Donkins, and you've got to stay alert on
every step of each level to survive.

You have three lives to start with, and
you've got to make it to the surface to
evade the water and the nasties. You'll find
such helpful items as grenades and boom¬
erangs that you can use to eliminate some
of your opposition. Flood guarantees all
arcade players a great time trying to fig-

DRAGON 49

Flood (Bullfrog Productions)

ure out the best way to advance through
the levels while evading water and beast-
ies. Although not a totally original arcade
adventure, it is definitely one of the best
we've seen on the Atari ST (We also at¬
tempted a review of the Amiga version,
but the program continually crashed when
moving from the first to the second level
of play.)

Bloody Wolf (NEC)

NEC

1255 Michael Dr.

Wood Dale IL
(708) 860-9500

Bloody Wolf ***y 2

NEC TurboGraphx-16 version $61.99

In this action game, you must rescue the
President from terrorists. You become
Bloody Wolf and enter the terrorists' terri¬
tory to effect the rescue.

The action takes place with a top-down
perspective. Armed with a machine gun
with unlimited ammunition and grenades,
you enter buildings, caves, and trucks in
hopes of rescuing hostages and picking up
such items as magnum grenades, shot¬

guns, flash bombs, bazookas, and flame
throwers. A life gauge tracks the number
of hits you can withstand before dying.
Medicine and muscle-enhancement pills
heal and increase your life gauge. At the
end of each stage of the rescue awaits a
terrorist boss who must be eliminated
before you can continue your adventure.

Although this game is hardly original
and is hardly one of the best NEC games
we've played, there is plenty of action to
keep any warmonger happy for some
time. The graphics are quite good, al¬
though they do flicker and sometimes slow
down when too many sprites are present
on the screen at once. Other NEC games
are better than this one, but Bloody Wolf
should be added to your NEC Turbo-
Graphx-16 game library if you enjoy blow¬
ing terrorists off the Earth.

Something extra

The Animation Studio (Walt Disney)

Normally we don't discuss programs
other than entertainment software. How¬
ever, we have run across such an out¬
standing program that we have to mention
it. Amiga users, if you are interested in
furthering your drawing and animation
skills, we recommend The Animation

Studio, from Walt Disney Computer Soft¬
ware. This outstanding animation program
is suited for use by both novices and expe¬
rienced animators. Priced at $179.95, you
see not only the cel you're working on, but
the previous three cels, which makes for
smooth-flowing animations. With an expo¬
sure sheet, you become the editor and
director of your animation, and decide the
order and timing control of each cel.

All initial drawing is done in "ink" (black
and white) and, once you're satisfied with
your animation, you use the program's
ink-and-paint program. You fill your
drawn objects with as many as 32 colors
out of a possible 4,096. You can even add
music and sound to your finished product.
Sample Disney animations are included.
You can modify these characters any way
you wish.

The Animation Studio (Walt Disney)

There's also a Disney animation competi¬
tion, with the grand prize being a trip to
Disney World. We recommend you check
this software out at your local Amiga
retailer for a view of a stunningly simple-
to-use but enormously effective animation
program.

The ButfghtN

This new section discusses software
with which we have had problems. This
does not necessarily mean you will have
problems in running these games on your
computer, as a problem could arise during
the software disk duplication process that
affects only a small number of copies.

You might also have a solution for prob¬
lems we identify that deal with copy
protection schemes or other coding
inaccuracies. We do recommend that you
test these games at your local retailer
before purchasing them, just to make
certain they are in proper working order
before taking them home.

Bad Blood

(Origin, 512-328-0282)

On PC/M5-DOS 80286 clone, EGA board

Humes battle Muties in this post-nuclear
holocaust adventure for PC/M5-DOS com¬
puters. Add in one of the most stunning
and original musical scores coded for the
Roland MT-32 sound system, and Bad
Blood should be a winner.

Unfortunately, we have now tested two
production copies of the game and con-

50 DECEMBER 1990

Now in pa perback

DRAGON WING

Volume I of
The Death Gate Cycle

MARGARET WEIS & TRACY HICKMAN

The mosL startlingly imaginative series yet from the bestselling
creators of The Darksword Trilogy and Rose of the Pro phet!

ELVEN

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, -. take world-building to a new
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* BANTAM HARDCO^TiR

stantly ran into fatal game crashes. All
attempts were made after using the pro¬
gram's "install" utility to copy the required
files to our hard disk drive. When we
booted the game, it got as far as the sec¬
ond game screen, then crashed with an
explosion of color. The Roland MT-32
boomed the fantastic score right up to the
point where a nuclear bomb blast obliter¬
ated the view on our EGA monitor.

We called Origin and received a second
set of disks. Again, we followed the instal¬
lation instructions. The first three times
we booted the game, we never were able
to proceed beyond the opening title
screen. The Roland music continued to
play, raising our hopes that perhaps we
had installed the game incorrectly.

We reinstalled the game and, lo and
behold, got beyond the opening screens
and were able to select "1-Play a new
game." We proceeded through the brief
introduction to the screen where you
must select one of three "tuffs" as the
character for the adventure. Then, once
the character was selected, there was a
screen refresh and clear, and—nothing but
a blinking cursor in the upper right hand
corner of the screen. There was no exit
from this horrible situation—CTRL-C,
BREAK, ESC, CTRL-Q, nothing. We had to
turn off the computer.

We attempted to break through this
barrier four times and then, with a sigh of
disappointment, gave up on the adventure.
We can only hope that others have been
more successful in running Bad Blood.

The Dark Heart of Uukrul

(Broderbund, 415-492-3299)

On PC/ MS-DOS 80286 clone, EGA board

Are we frustrated! Dark Heart initially
appeared to be a fantastic conversion.

With EGA graphics, a great plot, twists
and turns, we felt as though we had found
a game to rave about. Your party of four
(consisting of a fighter, a paladin, a priest,
and a magician) must search an enormous
underground city to destroy Uukrul. Uu¬
krul is evil incarnate and intends to subju¬
gate the city of Eriosthe.

You create your adventurers by answer¬
ing four questions for each of them. Your
answer dictates how strong or intelligent
each will be. This is a unique system of
character creation, similar to the manner
in which Origin has you generate Ultima
VI characters.

With auto-mapping. Dark Heart is off to
a strong start. You can always check your
map simply by tapping M when you're in
the game. And you can save and back up
your game whenever you wish. There are
plenty of corridors and rooms to explore
and puzzles to decipher. Finding the keys
at the start of the game gives you a feeling
of exhilaration; you actually have a chance
of winning!

You'll recall how we continue to harp on
copy protection methods and how they
can ruin a great adventure. Well, Broder-
bund's copy protection is built into the

game itself, so that you don't actually
realize it's copy protection until you fail to
correctly bypass it.

Throughout Eriosthe are places called
Sanctuaries. These enable your characters
to rest and restore their hit points and
vitality. The latter is absolutely necessary
for magic casters and clerics in order to
perform spells.

When you enter a Sanctuary, a six-
symbol code appears on the screen. You
must grab your four-page Soul Amulet
(which is hard to read, as it is on rust-
colored paper) and must then decipher
each symbol and find its English equiva¬
lent. The first symbol specifies which of
the pages to look at. You'll note there are
five increasingly large concentric circles.
Within each circle are various symbols.

You start in the center circle and match
the second on-screen symbol with a sym¬
bol in the first circle. You then enter the
English letter that adjoins the found sym¬
bol. By tracing outward from this letter,
you enter the second circle. You then look
for the third symbol of the code and again
equate it with its English letter equivalent,
which is entered into the game. This con¬
tinues until you have found all five of the
codes. Then you press ENTER; if luck is
with you, the typed-in name of one of the
Ancients flashes, and you have gained
access to the Sanctuary.

All was going well for us. We were hav¬
ing a grand time fighting rats, bats, skele¬
tons, and goblins using the automapping to
check out large areas that seemed ripe for
secret doors, and had found the Sanctuary
of the Ancients, Urtas.

Bounding onwards, we traced our way
into a long corridor and cautiously opened
door after door. We finally found the
second Sanctuary, Urlasar, the Sanctuary
of the Village. And this is where we met
our game-ender.

The code appeared on-screen and, try as
we might, we could not enter the correct
English letter equivalent. We studied the
Soul Amulet and attempted every combi¬
nation we believed possible, all to no avail.
We even tried Soul Amulets with different
first-symbol origins. We traced each sym¬
bol, double-checked our entries, double-
checked the routes taken from one circle
to another, double-checked our double¬
checking, and continually came up with
the same code identifier—the code that the
program would not recognize.

We finally had to surrender and move
on to another adventure. This was ex¬
tremely disappointing, as Broderbund had
released what, until that Sanctuary, was a
great adventure game. Now all was lost. It
is possible that we had continually erred
in our ways and had entered an incorrect
code, but as experienced adventure
gamers, we just don't see how such is
possible after working on those symbols
for three-quarters of an hour. Perhaps
others have crossed successfully into the
Sanctuary of the Village; we certainly hope
so. But to us, it appears as though a copy

protection method has stunted yet another
game's promising potential. If you have a
more enlightening experience with Dark
Heart, we'd like to know about it. We just
don't see how such a potentially great
adventure could block gamers in this
manner.

News and new products —
computer games

Accolade (408-985-1700) has reached an
agreement with Horro Soft to publish and
distribute its newest computer game,

Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. Featuring the
sultry Elvira, the game leads players on a
ghostly and grisly role-playing adventure
through a demon-filled medieval castle. It
seems as though Elvira's recent renova¬
tions to an ancient castle have aroused her
long-dead relative. Queen Emelda, who
has risen from the grave and has opened a
portal into the underworld. Now hundreds
of her evil servants are entering the castle
to prepare for her arrival. You must
search the castle for six keys that will
open a chest that contains a scroll that
wards off the demons. The game will be
released for the Amiga, Atari ST, and PC/
MS-DOS computers early next year.

Also from Accolade is Star Control, an
action/strategy game of galactic conquest.
The game is designed in such a way that
players who want only starship-to-starship
space battles can forego the scheming and
precise planning preferred by strategic
players. The adventure is set in the future,
in a star cluster that cannot accommodate
all of the alien races that make up the Ur-
Quan Hierarchy and the Alliance of Free
Stars. A one- or two-player game, this
allows you to represent either side and
attempt to capture your opponent's home
base. The price is $49.95.

Broderbund Software (415-492-3299) and
DIC Enterprises of Burbank are going to
develop an animated program based on
the adventures of Carmen Sandiego, a
detective-chase computer-game series that
teaches geography and history to children.
The series first appeared in 1985 and has
sold nearly two million emits. The players
chase Carmen and her henchmen all over
the world and even through time, learning
facts as they recover stolen loot.

Prince of Persia, Broderbund's action-
adventure game, is being released for the
Amiga ($39.95). Created by Jordan Mech-
nar, the author of Broderbund's Karateka,
Prince of Persia has the player escape
from a dungeon in one hour and rescue a
princess before the evil Grand Vizier Jaf-
far can marry her.

Electronic Arts (415-571-7171) has re¬
leased Imperium for Atari $T and Amiga
computers. Developed in the United King
dom, this game deals with successful con¬
quests, broken alliances, and complex
administrative duties. As the Emperor of
the Solar System, you must engineer the
growth of your empire while maintaining
the delicate balance between many eco¬
nomic and political factors. There are

52 DECEMBER 1990

hundreds of nearby worlds to conquer,
but there are other empires with conquest
in mind. The adventure starts in the year
2020, with you attempting to expand your
empire. If you manage to crush all other
empires and colonize the planets, or if
your empire lasts 1,000 years, the safe
destiny of the human race is assured. The
price is $39.95.

Brainblaster is another offering from
Electronic Arts, a double game package
that includes Xenon 2 and Bombuzal, both
developed by Spotlight Software. Xenon 2
has players saving the universe from the
Xenites, aliens who have planted five time
bombs throughout history. Only you can
save the day and the universe. Xenon 2
features coin-op quality action and a hot
soundtrack. Bombuzal is 120 levels of fast-
moving explosive mayhem. Your objective
is to detonate a variety of bombs without
getting blown up yourself. The bombs are
located on tiles that can be covered with
ice, disappear, or spin wildly. Both a 2-D
overhead view and a 3-D isometric view
add to this frantic game. Versions are
currently available for the Amiga and
Atari ST for $39.95, and a version for MS-
DOS will be available soon.

Electronic Arts has announced the re¬
lease of Harpoon Scenario Editor from
Three-Sixty Inc. for $39.95. This is the
same in-house programming tool used by
the original Harpoon developers to pro¬
duce the scenarios for all of the existing
Harpoon Battlesets. You have full control
over every scenario available, including
geographical location of units and groups,
weapons, composition of air and sea as¬
sets, and much more. A built-in analysis
feature checks your completed scenario to
ensure all components necessary for the
action are present.

Interplay Productions (714-545-9001) has
released Battle Chess II: Chinese Chess, for
PC/MS-DOS computers. This is an ani¬
mated strategy game that simulates an¬
cient warfare with a mix of stunning
graphics, realistic sound, and humorous
animation. An exotic and varied version of
chess, it features new pieces (cannons,
counsellors, and ministers), movement
along a grid line instead of squares, and a
river separating the two halves of the
board. There are also 2-D and 3-D viewing
modes and on-line information files to
explain the game's rules and strategy. The
price is $49.95. An Amiga version will
appear soon. All Interplay products are
distributed through Mediagenic.

Miles Computing (818-340-6300) has
introduced Questmaster, The Prism of
Hehuetotol, for PC/MS-DOS ($39.95), Apple
IlGS ($39.95), and Commodore 64/128
($34.95) computers. You become Tema,
last of the Tellasien race. You must find the
crystal prism of Hehuetotol, a vital piece to
the master staff that will help conquer the
evil lord Colnar. You start the game in
Dondra, where an advanced interface
allows use of full sentences, multiple com¬
mands, and even multiple executions in

the same set of instructions. Earn experi¬
ence points by battling Mutoids, Wilde¬
beests, and others, as well as obtaining
items useful in future encounters.

Spectrum HoloByte (415-522-3584) has
released Flight of the Intruder for PC/MS-
DOS gamers. This game brings Stephen
Coonts' best-selling novel, based on his
experiences as a Navy pilot in the Vietnam
war, to the computer. After you select
your jet (A-6 or F-4), you are sent in search
of enemy targets from your base on the
carrier U.S.S. Shiloh. The game's action
takes place during the 1972 Linebacker
campaign over North Vietnam. You can
also connect two PC/MS-DOS machines
together via direct cable link to team up
against the enemy. There are 13 different
operations, each composed of as many as
four separate missions and yielding differ¬
ent targets, strategy, and adventure. In¬
cluded in the game package is a copy of
Coonts' novel. The price is $59.95. Ver¬
sions for the Amiga and Atari ST are also
scheduled for release.

Star Games (800-783-8023) has intro¬
duced Rings of Medusa. You must chal¬
lenge the evil Medusa, who has stolen
your father's kingdom using her diabolical
magic, to a final fight. You conduct trade,
find treasures, equip an armada of ships,
hire warriors for your army, and go into
battle. There are 33 cities to explore, 13
castles, and three islands. Find five hidden
rings and place them together to call Me¬
dusa to the final confrontation. The price
is $49.95 for PC/MS-DOS and Amiga ver¬
sions, and $39.95 for the Atari ST version.

Strategic Simulations, Inc. (408-737-6800)
is releasing Renegade Legion: Interceptor,
a science-fiction strategy game. It is based
on the board game from ,FASA, the crea¬
tors of the RENEGADE LEGION™ games.
You wage a campaign of galactic struggle
between the Terran Overlord Government
and the Renegade Legions. Take command
of a fighter squadron and fly with the elite
forces on either side of this never-ending
struggle. Engage in tactical ship-to-ship
space combat with deadly 69th Century
starfighters. Twenty-four standard fighter
types are included, and you can design
your own. The game will be initially re¬
leased for PC/MS-DOS machines at $59.95.

SSI has also signed a new contract with
TSR, Inc., to produce a new line of BUCK
ROGERS® science-fiction computer games.
Its first game is entitled Countdown to
Doomsday. Included in specially marked
Countdown boxes will be copies of a full-
length novel. First Power Play. All SSI
games are distributed by Electronic Arts.

Three-Sixty Pacific (408-879-9144) is
releasing The Blue Max. Currently for PC/
MS-DOS machines, this game recreates the
challenge of air-to-air combat over France
during 1917. Included is an original sound¬
track score and digitized animated graph¬
ics, with a total 3-D world in multiple
camera views.

Also from Three-Sixty Pacific comes Das
Boot, a German U-boat simulation. The

game is based on the actual accounts of
Peter Cramer, who was the technical
source for the movie of the same name
and was one of the surviving U-boat cap¬
tains. This game is also for PC/MS-DOS
gamers.

Three-Sixty Pacific (408-879-9144) has
produced MegaFortress for PC/MS-DOS
and Amiga computers. This is a military
air simulation based on Dale Brown's best
selling techno-thriller. Flight of the Old
Dog. It poses the question: What if the
Soviet Union had developed "Star Wars"
technology before the United States? You
are assigned the task of combatting a
Soviet laser powerful enough to knock
missiles, planes, and satellites out of the
sky. You assume the role and view the
action from the perspectives of five crew
members, and you'll confront such Soviet
threats as MiG 27s and 29s, as well as
surface-to-air missiles. The price is $49.95.

Also from Three-Sixty Pacific is Armor
Alley, for the Macintosh, Macintosh II, and
PC/MS-DOS computers. This strategic war
game allows one, two, or four players (two
teams of two each) to engage in head-to-
head confrontations using helicopters,
paratroopers, tanks, missile launchers, and
infantry. This simulation matches one
opponent or team against another of equal
strength and ability. You can also play by
connecting computers together via Apple-
Talk. There are eight difficulty levels. The
price is $49.95.

News and new products-
video games

CAPCOM U.S.A. (408-727-0400) has
released Gargoyle's Quest for Nintendo's
Game Boy, priced at $29.95. You control
Firebrand, the valiant guardian gargoyle
of the Ghoul Realm. You are pitted against
marauding Destroyers who are deter¬
mined to wipe out the entire planet. You'll
also recover stolen magic items to
strengthen yourself for future battles.

Data East USA (408-286-7080) has re¬
leased a new Nintendo Game Boy title.

Lock N Chase. You assume the role of an
international diamond thief on the rim.
You must stay ahead of the police by find¬
ing your way through a series of twisted
mazes, each littered with cash and gems.
Players score points by outsmarting their
pursuers, picking up coins, sacks of cash
and other valuable items.

Also from Data East is the Nintendo
Entertainment System (NES) release of
Battle Chess. The game combines the
strategic challenges of traditional chess
with the excitement of 3-D graphics and
sound. There are six levels of strategic
play with each chess piece possessing its
own method of attack. Players watch a
unique battle unfold while planning the
next move. The price is $44.95.

Hot-B USA Inc. (415-567-9337) has re¬
leased Shingen the Ruler for NES game
systems. This game takes you back to
Japan, 400 years ago. The country then
was divided into numerous autonomous

DRAGON 53

Robotech
lives on

Robotech™ is alive

and well at Palladium Books®.

Palladium has been flooded with phone calls and letters all fearful that we
will not be doing any more Robotech supplements. Fear not! We have a lot
in store for you over the next few years. Yes, there will be more Macross,
more Invids,more Robotech II: The Sentinels, and some BIG surprises (if all
goes well). So hang in there and keep your eyes peeled.

Meanwhile, have you seen all the Robotech stuff we’ve already got out?

ROBOTECH™ The Role-Playing Game Book One: Macross: Bring to
life the wonder and adventure of the famous T. V. series. Book One: Macross
provides all the game rules for the entire series. A complete game in itself,
ROBOTECH™ offers a wealth of information on giant Mecha, equipment
and characters from the first segment of the trilogy. Never before has a
game captured the awesome power, super high-technology and fever pitch
action of ROBOTECH™. $11.95 plus $1.50 for postage.

ROBOTECH™ Book II: The RDF Manual. More combat vehicles, more
data, high-tech bandits, wastelands, character sheets, and floorplans for the
Prometheus II and the Daedalus II. Sourcebook : $7.95. Please add $1.00
for postage.

ROBOTECH™ Book III: The Zentraedi. An in depth look at the menacing
Zentraedi with more vehicles, characters and spacecraft, complete with
floorplans. Sourcebook: $7.95. Please add $1.00 for postage.

ROBOTECH™ Book IV: Southern Cross presents an army of new mecha,
high-powered personal battle armor, energy weapons, vehicles, and the
insidious Robotech Masters with their army of Bioroids! Much of this mat¬
erial is published here for the first time. A 112 page sourcebook. $11.95.
Please add $1.50 for postage.

ROBOTECH™ Book V: The Invid Invasion. Earth is decimated. Its
survivors enslaved by the conquering Invid. Only scattered groups of freedom
fighters, armed with the most advanced Mecha (the Cyclone and Mospeada
Battle-Bikes, Alpha and Beta Fighters) and raw courage, dare to strike at
the insidious Invid.

This lavishly illustrated book has it all; the Invid, Invid hives, new mecha,
new weapons and vehicles, new character classes, T.V. characters, random
encounter tables, adventure and more. $11.95. Please add $1.50 postage.

Robotech™ RPG Book Six: The Return of the Masters. Actually they never
left. A secret group of Robotech Masters survived the war and the invid’s
invasion. Over the last 30 years they’ve lived and worked quietly, building
an elite force of bioroid and zentraedi warriors. Now they are ready to make
their move and only you can stop them.

As if that weren’t enough, we present Moon Base, complete with floor
plans, Superfactory G-95, mecha martial arts, Thailand adventures, space
adventures, and well ... lots of adventure! $9.95 plus $1.50 for postage
and handling.

ROBOTECH™ Adventures: Lancer’s Rockers is the latest and most hair
raising adventure book yet. Forget what you read in the novels. The invid
are back and more insidious than ever.

The adventure takes characters through the ruins of New Detroit, to the
wild west to fight invid and a new threat, the evil Krugatch. Plus Lancer,
new mecha, new sonic weapons and a lot more! $7.95 plus $1.00 for
postage and handling.

ROBOTECH™ Adventures: Ghost Ship: Is it just a Ghost Ship ?

Or is it more? Suitable for all Macross and/or Southern Cross mecha.
Available now! $7.95, please add $1.00 for postage.

ROBOTECH™ Adventures: RDF Accelerated Training Program:

A super-whammy book of adventures (simulated and real), dozens of
encounter tables, scenario ideas and other data. $7.95, add $1.00 postage.

ROBOTECH II: The Sentinels™ Rick, Lisa, the
SDF III, and thousands of troops carry their struggle for freedom to the
home galaxy of the Robotech Masters.

Includes the famous Cyclone, Alpha, and Beta, plus new, more powerful
destroids, spacecraft, alien playing characters, new vehicles, the invid inor¬
ganics and a universe of adventure. A complete game in itself. $14.95.
Please add $1.50 for postage.

The REF Field Guide is a Robotech collector’s dream. Page after page of
never before seen artwork and diagrams printed from the original animation
model sheets! Cyclones, Alphas, mecha, space ships, uniforms, characters
and much, much more originally drawn for the New Generation/Invid/Mos-
peada and Robotech II: The Sentinels portions of the TV series.

Gamers will be delighted to find floor plans and descriptions for typical
REF military bases, a look inside a Robotech Factory (with floor plans and
robot drones), adventures, and adventure ideas. $14.95 plus $1.50 for
postage and handling.

Coming This Fall!

Robotech —--

The New Generation (Invids)
on Video Tape, from Palladium Books :

JP 8 video tapes in the series. All 25 episodes.

• VHS only. Color. Approximately 76 minutes each.

• $24.95 plus $5.00 for first class postage, protective bubble pack, and
handling per each tape. Available at hobby and comic stores
everywhere.

• First two tapes (six episodes) available Fall 1990.

Palladium Books® Dept. D 5926 Lonyo Det, MI 48210

Palladium Books® is a registered trademark owned by Kevin Siembieda. All other TMs pending.
ROBOTECH and ROBOTECH II: THE SENTINELS: © 1985/1987 Harmony Gold U.S.A., Inc./Tat-
sunoko Production Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved. ROBOTECH is a registered trademark owned and
licensed by Harmony Gold U.S.A. Inc.

54 DECEMBER 1990

fiefdoms, where each daimyo (lord) was
the absolute ruler of his territory. As there
was no central government, it was the
dream of some lords to unite and rule all
Japan. As Shingen Takeda, a real person
from Japanese history, your objective is to
bring all of the fiefdoms under your con¬
trol. Your strategic skill in manipulating
the domestic and military commands
determines success or failure. The war
zone, on four screens, consists of woods,
rivers, mountains, bridges, and castles.
There are 42 unique battlefields.

Radiance Software (805-496-7898) has
introduced Sidearms for NEC Turbo-
Graphx-16 video game systems. You are
Earths last interstellar warrior and must
defend the galaxy against the invading
nemesis from a distant black hole. With
your government-issue sidearm, you are
mankind's only hope against total annihila¬
tion. There are 10 levels of action.

Sega of America, Inc. (415-742-9300) has
released its new Ghostbusters game for
the Genesis system. This full-color, 16-bit
graphics game with full digital stereo finds
a rash of earthquakes unleashing a host of
nasty new ghosts and demons on New
York City. Peter, Raymond, and Egon use
every weapon imaginable to seal the
ghouls in bubbles for easy removal. You'll
encounter the Silk Hatton and Broccoli
Worm, as well as Fire Giants and Dragons.
The price is approximately $50.

For Genesis comes Sega's The Sword of
Vermilion, a role-playing fantasy game
where you come face-to-face with legions
of fiends, monsters, and the evil denizens
of deep, dark dungeons. A free hint book
also comes with the game, as well as bat¬
tery back-up.

New arcade hits for the Sega system
include: Strider, that allows players to
traverse snowy mountains and battle
Amazons, attack dogs, and futuristic gun¬
ners and Afterburner II, the Sega arcade
classic of a jet fight thriller. Other new
games include: E-Swat, which features
futuristic humanoid robot-police using
their strengths in a battle to save the cities
of tomorrow, and Cyberball, where one or
two gamers play football with teams of
cyborg robots.

Watch for Dick Tracy and Spider-Man to
arrive for the Genesis system. Sega has
also released two exciting new accessories
for their 16-bit system: the Arcade Power
Stick, an ergonomically designed joy stick
that permits control of individual push¬
button velocity; and the Power Base Con¬
verter, which allows Genesis owners to
play Sega Master System Games on their
16-bit unit. These items are $49.95 and
$39.95, respectively.

Clue corner

Conquests of Camelot (Sierra)

1. Go first to Merlin's room and ask him
about Gawaine, Launcelot, and Galahad.
While here, get the lodestone.

2. Obtain more copper, gold, and silver,
and be certain to get your purse back.

3. For visionary results, put a gold coin
in each tray in the chapel of the two gods.

4. Go to Glastonbury Tor, and give a
copper to Widdershins and another cop¬
per to the hunter. Certainly buy that spear
for a gold piece and prepared to get
"boared." After saying "Yes" to the crow,
you can get the sleeve from the skeleton.

5. Keep your lance down and to the
right when jousting with the Black Knight.
As soon as the Black Knight's lance tip goes
past your lance tip, move yours to the left.
He'll get skewered in the stomach nearly
every time.

6. After you free Galahad, go east. Give
the witch the sleeve you recovered in #4
above. Read the inscription on the slab
and go north.

7. Search around Tor and find the Mad
Monk. To fight him most effectively, stand
in one spot and swing at every monk that
comes near you. After killing the monk, go
to the altar and put all of your silver coins
on it. You will receive a key. Go to the well
with the lid on it and unlock it. Search the
water and get the crystal heart. You can
leave the Tor now.

8. Go to Ot Moor. To cross the ice, watch
for the first scene that is entire ice. Type:
"Love is my shield." Follow the petals to
the castle. Give the Ice Maiden the heart.
When looking at the Miraculous Bush of
Flowers, be careful to answer the riddles
correctly; otherwise, you will die.

9. At the port where the Ice Maiden told
you to go, go to Gaza. Follow the boy and
talk to the old man about symbols. Be
certain to write them down.

10. As soon as you enter the desert, the
thief will jump you.

11. After leaving the mountains, go
south until you can't move anymore. Fol¬
low the river. Don't drink the river water.
At the house, go downstairs and drink that
water.

12. Go north. Give the mercenaries five
copper pieces. Go west. When the man at
the gate orders you to give him your
money, wield Excalibur.

13. A thief will steal your money. Follow
him and go back the way you came. Sell
the donkey to the man. Then go to the
woman who sells apples and take the
apple of Truth.

14. Buy a mirror from the merchant
who is positioned to the left of the fish
man. Then talk to the rug merchant. Go
south. Type: "Yell"; give the mirror to the
woman and the veil to the rug merchant.
Go to Abdul's store and buy a relic of
Elzer. Give this to the man with the
broom, then buy some herbs and charcoal
from him. Give the herbs to the fishmon¬
ger, the broom to the innkeeper, and the
charcoal to the beggar. Buy a lamb cutlet
from the butcher and give it to the woman
near the small boy. Buy seed from the
grain merchant, then sprinkle it near the
woman's cage that can be found near the
gate. Talk to the apple woman again. Enter

the temple and take the Test.

15. Talk to the beggar. Enter the crypt.
Wander around until you find a small
mummy with a necklace. Type: "Use
Sword" to get the necklace. Go east and
give the potion to Gawaine. Wander
around more until you find a sarcophagus.
Wait until the Thing goes back into the
coffin. Get the apple inside. Go east.

Search for the statue of Aphrodite. Put the
golden apple in her hand, then follow her
directions by using the lodestone.

16. After fighting the Saracen, use the
dove. After Aphrodite disappears, move
counterclockwise and count six pillars.
Push that pillar and get the Grail. Leave
the thief; let the Grail handle it. You have
now saved Camelot!

Billy Rawls
Rock Hill SC

Curse of the Azure Bonds (SSI)

1. In Haptooth, do not try to defeat the
efreet right away. Instead, wander around
the town killing off the patrols. Keep doing
this until all wandering encounters stop.
Then attack the efreet. This drastically
reduces the number of drow clerics and
magic-users you will have to fight in this
major battle.

2. Do not attack the dragons at the top
of the red wizards tower. Instead, turn
them against their master.

3. While in the red wizards tower, make
sure not to pick up any air mail. Also, do
not accept the Challenge of the Sphere,
unless you are prepared to be annihilated.

4. Intrepid adventurers can find a shop
dealing in magic items outside Daggerford.

David Grau

Howell NJ

The Dark Heart of Uukrul

(Broderbund)

Below is the solution to the crossword
puzzle located midway through the game.
Where and how you use this information
is up to you!

DOWN

1. Weak, loud, backward (frail)

2. Within or inside itself (inside)

3. Sounds like bread is being made, want
some? (need)

4. Mythical monsters become tiresome
(dragon)

5. The infinite ethereal plane contains
many small bones (teeth)

6. Sing out but keep your mouth closed
(hum)

ACROSS

7. The avenger is moved to carve two
points where dead lie (engrave)

8. A keen joint (knee)

9. The tree before and after the fire
(ash)

10. Conditions important when walking
less than 12 inches (underfoot)

11. Gives up a short recess to get a word
in (renounces)

12. Covered with cold wet spikes (icicled)

Ted Naleid
Park Falls WI

DRAGON 55

Deja Vu II (Mindscape)

1. If you think you've traveled every¬
where in Chicago, courtesy of Gabby's cab,
remember he's a local cab driver and you
won't be able to have him take you to
another city.

2. Try Opening and Operating the pocket
knife you found in your apartment to
open the locked backdoor to Joe's Bar.

The Lessers

MegaTraveller 1 (Paragon)

1. The highest possible profit for a single
trip seems to be gunrunning to Stur, in the
Efate system. Go to the weapons' shop on
Efate and buy as many PGMP-12s as your
party can carry. Travel to Stur, and when
the starport guards request permission to
search for illegal weapons, say no. They
will inform you that you are in violation
and will let you pass. Walk down the street
to the weapons shop and sell the weapons.

2. The most lucrative legal route in the
early stages of the game (before acquiring
the Jump-2 drive) is between Efate and
Louzy. Buy water on Efate and sell it on
Louzy. The latter planet is experiencing a
water shortage. Then purchase explosives
to sell upon your return to Efate.

3. The most lucrative legal route after
you have purchased the Jump-2 drive is
between Chiros in the Pixie system and
Boughene. Buy Streechen wine on Chiros
and exchange it for computers on
Boughene.

4. Whenever buying or selling anything,
the character with the highest level of
Trader skill should be at the front of the
party. One level of Trader skill makes a
difference of kCr40 in the cost of the
Jump-2 drive and will affect all other
details as well.

James A. Gilly
U.S.S. Simon Lake , FPO NY

Secret of the Silver Blades (SSI)

1. Whenever you enter a new area, hunt
for the teleporter that will take your party
back to the well. Be certain to mark where
that teleporter takes you!

2. An easy way to obtain gems in the
mine is to advance down a shaft until you
come to a door blocked, with rubble. If you
Look at the door, your characters will find
a pick and you will be asked if you wish to
dig. Say yes and you will be rewarded
with some gems. Repeat this process as
often as you wish.

3. Save the game before you enter the
castle. When you enter, do not sign the
Medusa's Scroll. Also, do not follow the
Medusa if you encounter her later. The
punishment for not following this advise is
that your characters will be teleported away.

Brian Smith
McKinney TX

1. Free the Well of Knowledge First.

2. Find the dwarf called Derf in the
temple and accept his quest.

3. When you complete Derf's quest, go

to the Black Circle headquarters, where a
magical item of great power awaits you.

4. Return to the dungeon after slaying
the dragon with the amulet and go to the
8th level.

5. Use the malfunctioning teleporter on
the prescribed level and free the shaft
from the barrier.

6. Take the now-freed shaft to the 10th
level and travel east.

7. Once in the second dungeon you must
answer riddles to move to the higher
levels, or you'll have to fight many iron
golems in a trial by combat. The riddle
answers are:

—That which bears no shadow is the
wind.

—That which cannot be held is your
breath.

—That which dies with a drink of water
is fire.

—That which cannot climb is water.

—That which cannot sleep is a river.

—That which you feel but cannot see is
your heart.

—That which you break is silence.

8. When you have all three keys, enter
the ice caverns via the purple worm en¬
trance and seek out the frost giant king.

9. Once in the final castle, you cannot
memorize spells. Therefore, it is a good
idea to take the teleporter on the first level
back to the well and restock on used
spells.

10. Do not trust the storm giant king on
the second level.

11. The doors that correspond to the
keys come in the following order: silver
before gold, which comes before bronze

12. Save the game after the 16-headed
hydra fight, for the end of the game is near.
Whether this is the end of the character or
the end of the game depends on you.

John Redden
Nova Scotia, Canada

Space Rogue (Origin)

1. Search Hiathre Base. In Cebak's room,
you'll find a keycard in one spacesuit.

2. One man is willing to trade with you.
Ask him about Monchi. You can give him a
ruby cube.

3. When asking for the pilot's license,
the last answer is "Imperium." You should
also ask for form CRC-07.

4. You can find a transmutation coil on
the Koth carrier. It is useful for building a
special engine.

5. In Arcturus is a mad pirate; an injec¬
tion of NSB will do him good.

Ron Mertens
Tel Aviv, Israel

Sword of Aragon (SSI)

Start with a warrior and take the stand¬
ard units you received. You should get one
ranger, two priests, two mages, and 100
men. Re-equip the 2nd Javelins with chain
mail, small shields, swords, crossbows
("X-bow" on the menu), and nothing else.
All future infantry emits should also be
equipped in this manner.

Using this strategy, it was possible to
eliminate the first attack while only losing
two men. Ignore the monster to the south¬
west for a while; he's too tough for start¬
ing characters. Go to the trees (characters
only) northwest of Aladda and slay the
minotaur to get his gold. Have your rang
ers, priests, and mages attack the mino¬
taur with ranged weapons, then send in
your warriors for the kill.

Now await your chance to take the city of
Marina and then Parithian when it is lightly
defended. During this time, develop your
city of Aladda's resources, except for lumber.
Ignore the missing boy quest; you'll probably
end up with several folk leaving your army
by the time you find him.

Pardon Olaff when asked; he is inno¬
cent. By the time you march on Marina,
you should have around 103 men in your
army. Accept Malacon as a vassal and use
extensive missile fire to win with minimal
casualties. Then garrison Aladda with 30
infantry possessing crossbows. Take about
125 men against Parithian. After 10 to 15
rounds of missile fire, you should either
win the battle outright or will have soft¬
ened the defenders up enough for an
attack. You can still keep on firing your
missiles until the defenders are all dead.

Next, take Brocada, then Sur Nova as it
is always undefended. Always fire at hexes
where the most enemy units are stacked,
and you'll get more hits.

Then attack Tantula with about 150
men. The defenders number about 500,
but they have no bowmen. Do not attack
Zamix, or you'll find yourself in combat
with about 200 trolls and 1,000 ores! You
should go against the city of Gemok with
at least 225 men, as you'll be battling 2,300
goblins, one minotaur, and three demons. I
fired continually at them for 24 turns (the
maximum battle) and won. I lost 35 men.

Always keep in mind that the troop
estimates your scouts give you are high.

You'll need about 1,000 men for the
battles against Estallah and Tetrada. Don't
attack the dark elf city west of Tranvan
until you have taken Tetrada.

William Johnson
Hartsville SC

1. Spend money on bow emits. A platoon
of 50 bowmen make enemy units disap¬
pear faster than a spike can disarm your
computer.

2. When fighting the dragon, take at
least three bow platoons, two infantry
platoons, and two cavalry units. Combat
the dragon in this order: bow, infantry,
then cavalry. You can kill the dragon in
one turn.

3. Nuralia has a mountain pass nearby
that leads directly to Tetrada.

4. Save after every game year!

5. To the west of Sur Nova is a hidden
group of spell-casters and a demon.

6. Vassal, if you can—a monthly tribute
is very helpful.

David Waters
APO New York

56 DECEMBER 1990

1. Use the 35% tax rate. Decrease the
rate to 0% during the winter months, as
your income is low then anyway, to in¬
crease your popularity.

2. At the start of each turn, leave Allada.
Return before the turn ends. If you are
fortunate enough to meet a group of gob¬
lins, you'll earn easy experience.

3. Take your time before you try to
conquer the other cities. Trolls attack Sur
Nova by night. I recommend that you
accept their offer. Even if the Trolls come
back, they'll take no gold.

Michel Walsh
Ville LaSalle, Quebec

Ultima V (Origin)

A letter of correction was received from
Dan Jenner of Castro Valley, Calif., in
response to a letter we published from
Rick Davis in issue #156. Rick indicated
that to obtain the crown of Lord British
from inside Blackthorne's Castle, one char¬
acter had to be permanently sacrificed.

Not so, claims Dan.

This problem can be averted by going to
the castle of an evil witch that lies off the
shores of the Isle of the Abyss. You first
need the grapple obtained from Lord Mi¬
chael in the Lyceaum to climb the moun¬
tains that surround her keep. Once you
enter her keep, go past the daemons that
guard the door and go to the farthest
lower-right room. Talk to the lady there and
ask about "Oppression." When she asks for
the password, answer "Impera." She will
give you a black patch that you must wear
when inside Blackthorne's Castle.

The Blackthome guards will also ask you
for the password; repeat "Impera." From
that point on, the guards in the castle will
leave you alone.

Ultima VI (Origin)

1. Look under a potted plant in Serpent's
Hold for a great clue.

2. Perhaps the plant in The Slaughtered
Lamb also holds information.

3. A liar is a liar. Forcing facts to be
faced might prove beneficial.

4. Don't slay the queen of the giant ants.

5. Use your sextant to locate the ship¬
wreck to obtain a piece of the pirate map.

6. Mariah needs all of the pieces before
she can translate the Gargoyle Book of
Prophecy.

7. Sutek died in the dungeons beneath
the castle.

8. Stonegate can be reached only from
the north via a transportation device.

The Lessers

Don't forget to mail your vote for the best
software game of the year (as well as your
game hints) to: The Lessers, 179 Pebble
Place, San Ramon CA 94583, U.S.A. The
results will be published in our January
1991 column. Until next issue, game on! S-3

DEATH OR GLORY? - THF CHOICE IS YOURS!

® 0898 555 525 ®

F & E CROUP, m BUS L2U. HENLEY ON THAMES. OSON- UK
Calls, trail 5jp 4 off peak) and |s1i*ridarci pWik) p nun a tl: in* VAT

Enter five fn-nt-isil* worlds of Ki-gli adVuiiUlK try ther

Master of Keile playing FanUSY - J<*r Devcr

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Pages From the Mages, part VI

i mm

by Ed Greenwood

Elminster looked around contentedly at
the rocks and trees outside my cottage.
"Mayhap you and I could watch the sun¬
set," he suggested, getting out his pipe.

I agreed enthusiastically and grabbed
my tape recorder. Sunsets up at the cot¬
tage are free of stinging insects only when
Elminster's thick green pipesmoke is
present. Elminster was already halfway
down the rock steps, trailing said smoke in
a sparkling, winking plume. He was hum¬
ming something that sounded suspiciously
like a rock song that had been on the radio
on the trip up.

The water lay quiet and peaceful below
the dock. Down the bay, a loon was diving.
Elminster smoked, looked about, and said
nothing. A heron eyed us suspiciously for
a bit, then resumed fishing in silence.

Abruptly, the peace was shattered by the
roar of an approaching speedboat slicing
toward us. Elminster took the pipe out of
his mouth and asked, "Friends?"

I shook my head, and he nodded and
waved a hand. The boat abruptly rose
straight up out of the water to hang un¬
moving in empty air, dripping. He waved
his hands again and muttered something.
Silence fell abruptly, as if the frantic roar
of the motor had been cut off by an axe.
The sage grinned at me and waved his
hands again. The levitating boat and its
silently screaming inhabitants spun about
and, still in midair, floated behind a clump
of trees where we couldn't see it.

"Better?" he asked.

"Much better," I agreed. "What will hap¬
pen to them?"

"When it wears off," he said, "they'll fall
back into the water. A few simple spells."

"Ah, yes," I replied. "Speaking of magic. . ."

He grinned slowly. "Of course. Turn on
thy little machine, then."

And the old sage gave me a dissertation
that lasted through the evening (including
the eventual hasty retreat of the speed¬
boat) and included details of more magic
of the Realms.

I asked the old mage about necromancy
(or "Dark Art," as it is usually called in the
Realms) because of the Lords of Darkness
accessory book I was working on at the
time, and he revealed enough spells for
that anthology and two powerful
spellbooks concerned with Dark Art that
are detailed herein. To balance such evil
with lighter magicks. I've included details
of some priestly tomes, too, both druidic
and ecclesiastical. Enjoy!

The Book of Shangalar
"the Black"

Appearance: A tome of beaten electrum

pages stamped and etched with the rimes
of the spells set down within. The four
pages are secured by small rings to covers
of polished silver (that have tarnished to a
smoky black appearance). The name of
Shangalar is written in Thorass on the
lower right of the front cover, and is the
only lettering or adornment that the cover
bears. The book is surprisingly heavy but
is less than a finger thick, and its cover is
three hand-widths across by seven hand-
widths in height.

History and description: Shangalar was a
mage of Calimshan some 700 winters ago.
Reclusive and secretive from the first, he
gained experience and much treasure by
exploring (and pillaging) ruins of the lost
kingdoms of men, elves, and dwarves,
making extensive use of animated undead
servitors, summoned monsters, and
charmed hirelings.

Deeply paranoid, Shangalar believed that
every creature in the Realms was out to
get him, and so he trusted no one and laid
many elaborate plans, back-up strategies,
and double-crosses to protect himself from
betrayal. These undoubtedly saved his life
on the several occasions when he did
encounter deceit and treachery, but they
won him no friends and caused many
blameless individuals to be slain or ruined
along the way. Shangalar cared not a whit.

He grew rapidly in power and built
himself a hidden keep somewhere in the
northeast of Calimshan, slaying all who
learned anything of its location or appear¬
ance. It remains hidden today, perhaps as
the lair of a lich. All that is known to men
is the suspicion (perhaps false) that it is an
aerial dwelling, concealed amid mountain
peaks.

Shangalar is known to have specialized
in Dark Art and was once robbed by the
master thief, Athchos the Black, while
exploring a ruined desert city. Athchos
emerged from Anauroch with the book
that bears Shangalar's name, obviously a
volume compiled by Shangalar in his early
researches.

Athchos recited the book in Iriaebor to a
cabal of evil mages led by Orlstar Meir, for
copying; it is from their various records
that Elminster knows the books contents.

Athchos then tried to rent the book to a
mage in Elturel but was slain by a swarm

of hundreds of crawling claws. The book
vanished in the attack, and it is widely
believed that Shangalar was responsible,
for he thereafter styled himself Shangalar
"the Black" (thought to be a proud refer¬
ence to his slaying of the notorious thief).
Perhaps Shangalar did not regain the
book—or perhaps he allowed it to pass
into the hands of others for coin or for his
own fell reasons—because the book
turned up again in Neverwinter, where it
was unmistakably described by Ourgos, a
minor sage. The book was promptly stolen
by evil mages of Luskan or agents working
for them, but it is believed to have since
vanished again (and is being sought by
those of Luskan who desire to retrieve it).

The tome's four pages each contain a
single spell dealing with the dead, undead,
or necromancy. The book itself bears no
alignment nor known traps (although
Athchos spoke, perhaps falsely, of a "poi¬
soned clasp," to deter theft by those he
lent it to), and the spells it contains seem
more protective than actively evil in na¬
ture. These spells are bone javelin (a
unique spell), negative plane protection (a
wizards equivalent of the widely known
priest spell), repel undead (a unique spell),
and bone blade (a unique spell). All are
described hereafter.

Bone Javelin

(Alteration, Evocation)

Level: 7 Components: V,S,M

Range: lO'/lvl. CT: 7

Duration: 1 rd./lvl. Save: None

AE: Special

This magic requires a drop of the cast¬
er's blood, a tiny carved replica of a javelin
fashioned of any organic material, and a
bone or bone fragment. A javelin of bone
springs into being in the air above one of
the caster's hands (caster's choice) and
flashes (at a speed of 300'/roimd) in the
direction pointed by the caster. The javelin
turns after striking a living creature or
obstacle, or when it reaches its maximum
range, then returns at the same speed to
the caster. It then floats above the caster's
hand until directed forth again. Spell¬
casting or other activities may be under¬
taken without unintentionally sending
forth or dissipating the javelin.

A bone javelin strikes only once per
round. A successful to-hit roll is required
(all creatures in the javelin's path are im¬
perilled if the javelin misses the target
chosen by the caster). A bone javelin is AC

DRAGON 59

-4, shatters if dealt at least 7 hp damage,
and does 1 hp damage per level of the
caster to creatures it strikes. It can dam¬
age Ethereal, undead, other-planar, and
Prime Material plane creatures alike. A
bone javelin can twist and turn as neces¬
sary to overcome barriers and return to
its caster.

Negative Plane Protection

(Abjuration, Necromancy)

Level: 7 Components: V,S,M

Range: Touch CT: 1

Duration: 1 tum/lvl. Save: None
AE: 1 creature

By means of three drops of the caster's
blood (plus one drop from the creature to
be protected by the spell, if it is not the
caster), this magic protects against energy
drain spells and undead powers. The
caster or any eligible creature touched by
the caster is partially protected against
one undead attack per level of the caster
(this differs from the priest spell of the
same name).

Undead that exist partially on the Nega¬
tive Material plane (such as shadows,
wights, wraiths, spectres, and vampires)
do physical damage by any attack, but if
the protected being saves vs. death magic,
no drain of experience or strength results.
Instead, the attacking undead suffers 2-12
(2d6) hp damage (attackers using energy
drain spells are not so harmed). Unlike the
clerical spell, failure to save vs. death
magic does not cause the protected being
double physical damage.

Repel Undead

(Abjuration, Necromancy)

Level: 7 Components: V,S,M

Range: Touch CT: 4

Duration: 1 rd./lvl. Save: Special

AE: Special

This spell enables a caster to force un¬
dead away from his person. Repelled
undead move away at their full movement
rate to the limit of the spells range and
cannot move closer. If solid barriers pre¬
vent their fleeing out of spell range, the
undead are held against the barrier until
the spell expires or the caster moves away.
The spell effect remains centered on and
moves with the caster.

Undead that are able to launch missile
or spell attacks are free to do so, but even
by magical means they cannot approach
creatures who are within this spell's
range, regardless of further spell-casting,
slumber, or unconsciousness on the part
of the caster, and regardless of attacks
made against the undead.

Undead who successfully save vs. spells
at -3 may enter or remain in spell range
(and attack other creatures or otherwise
take normal actions) for one round, but
they must save each and every round. On
any round in which the save fails, the
magic forces the undead to move directly
away from the caster at full movement
rate. In places dedicated to evil, evil un¬
dead may save at -2, -1, or normally, at

the DM's discretion. The material compo¬
nent of this spell is a magnet in bar form,
with a drop of the caster's blood placed on
one end and a fragment of bone or tissue
from any undead wired or tied to the
other end.

Bone Blade

(Alteration, Evocation, Necromancy)

Level: 8 Components: V,S,M

Range: 0 CT: 8

Duration: 1 rd./lvl. Save: None
AE: Special

From a normal bladed weapon and a
bone from any source (both consumed in
the casting), this magic creates a tempo¬
rary but very effective weapon. The bone
blade thus created can be wielded by any
being normally able to wield edged weap¬
ons. It is identical in size, weight, and
damage to the bladed weapon that served
as a material component of the spell.

The bone blade does normal damage
with the following exceptions: It is un¬
breakable until it crumbles into dust at the
spells expiration, counts as a "+0" magical
weapon for attack purposes, and deals
damage against undead as a sword of
wounding. Any wounds it causes cannot
be healed by regeneration or magical
means short of a limited wish spell. Nor¬
mal rest and time cure the wounds caused
by a bone blade. Until such wounds are
bandaged or one turn passes, the victim
loses one additional hit point per round,
per wound, over and above the initial
damage (e.g., a being hit for 4 hp damage
suffers one additional hit point on the
following round, the round thereafter, and
so on).

Against undead, a bone blade does dou¬
ble normal damage. If the undead fails to
save vs. death magic (it must save only at
the first contact with a particular bone
blade, not at each strike), it is instantly
blasted out of existence.

The Glandar's Grimoire

Appearance: This book is only a burned
remnant; its original, undamaged appear¬
ance is unknown. All that survives is a
front cover of black dragon hide stretched
over a sheet of slate and stitched with
wire, and five scorched, fire-browned
pages that it protected. The rest of the
book—its back cover and an unknown
number of additional pages—is lost, proba¬
bly destroyed by flames.

The cover and surviving pages have
been kept together over the years by
storage in a flat octagonal coffer of or¬
nately carved ivory. The coffer has a clasp
and hinges of electrum, and its cover is
worked in a stylized relief design of
waves, clouds, trees, and seabirds, with a
lateen-rigged ship visible far off on the
waves. The coffer is worth 150 gp or so
for materials, plus a subjective amount (50-
500 gp) for the workmanship, believed to
be that of an artisan of Calimport or
Tashluta. A shallow secret compartment
on the underside of the coffer is known to

have held (at various times) lockpicks,
keys, amulets, needles, and the like.

History and description: The Glandar
was a mage-king of long ago, whose lands
were somewhere near the Vilhon Reach,
"The Glandar" is actually a title; his real
name has been forgotten. It is known that
the Glandar was an intelligent, powerful
mage whose Art was skillful enough to
create aerial craft even in those dim days,
and whose small kingdom boasted irriga¬
tion, medicine, and Art far more advanced
than those of neighboring lands.

The Glandar was also a cruel tyrant who
permitted no other being beside himself to
study Art in his lands—and this policy
proved to be his undoing. He was alone
when attacked by a group of young, ambi¬
tious mages of Unther. Although he slew
many of them, he was overwhelmed and
utterly destroyed. His grimoire (so named
because its first page bears only the in¬
scription: "The Grimoire Most Perilous of
The Immortal Glandar, Lord of the Undy¬
ing, Scepter of Glandara") was seized by
his slayers, who battled each other for the
spoils, wreaking much havoc in the fallen
mage's realm of Glandara. ("Scepter" was
the title the Glandar ruled by; "Lord of the
Undying" is believed to refer to his mas¬
tery of undead, through Dark Art.)

The other four surviving pages of the
Grimoire contain a single spell each—four
unique magicks, all described hereafter.

Fellblade

(Abjuration, Evocation, Necromancy)

Level: 5 Components: V,S,M

Range: 0 CT: 1 rd.

Duration: 1 turn/lvl. Save: None
AE: Special

The casting of this spell brings into
being a smoky-gray, blade-shaped bar of
force (up to 4' in length) in the caster's
grip. A fellblade passes into nothingness
in an instant if it leaves the caster's hand
(it cannot be sheathed to be wielded again
later). Its use therefore precludes spell¬
casting. It also vanishes instantly if the
caster dies or becomes unconscious or
feebleminded, but it can otherwise be
wielded for one strike per round (normal
attack roll required). The fellblade's strike
can have one of three fell effects. One
function must be selected by the caster
prior to attacking.

— Th e fellblade can do 2-8 hp damage,
functioning as a weapon able to hit all
creatures at normal chances.

— The fellblade can drain from any crea¬
ture it hits the exact hit points necessary
to heal all current damage to the sword-
wielder (up to the maximum possessed by
the target).

-The touch of the blade can do 1 hp
physical damage and bestow curse (as the
reverse form of the priest spell remove
curse). Some suggested curses are given in
the rulebook spell description, and many
alternatives can be found in the article
"Curses!" in issue #77 of DRAGON® Maga¬
zine. This power can be used only three

60 DECEMBER 1990

times in every 111 turns by any spell-
caster (regardless of how many fellblade
spells that being casts).

The material components of this spell
are a drop of the caster's blood, a piece
(any size) of cold iron, and a drop of un¬
holy water (that the caster need not touch
directly).

Melisander's Harp

(Alteration)

Level: 5 Components: V,S,M

Range: 10'/lvl. CT: 5

Duration: 1 rd./lvl. Save: Neg.

AE: Special

This spell is named for its creator, the
elven mage and harper hero known to
Realmslore as "The Last Lonely Harpist." It
brings into being the spectral, shadowy
illusion of a harp that plays by itself, float¬
ing in midair. The harp can be up to 10'
per level distant from the caster, and while
within range can be moved at a rate of up
to 10' per round according to the caster's
will. The harp's playing can be turned on
and off instantly and repeatedly by the
silent will of the caster, but this does not
affect spell duration.

While the harp is playing, all creatures
within 20' of it are affected as if by a slow
spell (no saving throw). All sound is
hushed (but not negated), available light
dims, and all creatures of 4+4 HD or less
within 40' must make a saving throw vs.
spells or be affected as if by a sleep spell.
All creatures and objects within 60' of a
Melisander's harp are also affected as if by
a feather fall spell (no saving throw) while
the harp is playing.

A Melisander's harp is unaffected by
dispel magic or silence spells. A limited
wish or stronger spell is required to de¬
stroy such a harp. The powers of a harp
cannot pass through magical barriers
(such as a wall of force), and a spell-caster
cannot cause a harp to come into being
beyond or to move to the other side of
such a barrier.

The material components of this spell
are a silver-harp-string and at least three
tears (the tears of an elf, a maiden who
sings, a harpist or other musician, or the
caster; tears from different individuals
may be combined in the casting).

Disruption

(Alteration, Necromancy)

Level: 9 Components: V,S

Range: lO'/lvl. C T : 3

Duration: Instant. Save: Special

AE: 40'-radius sphere

This powerful spell causes undead and
other magically animated creatures (such as
golems) to be utterly destroyed. Summoned,
enchanted (controlled by magical means),
and charmed creatures are instantly freed
from any controls upon them.

Any ongoing spell-casting in the area of
effect is ruined (magical-item effects are
delayed for a round but are not otherwise
affected; artifact powers are unaffected).

All effects of a disruption occur only

within a 40'-radius globe. The range of the
spell refers to how distant the center of
the globe may be from the caster. The
spell takes effect instantly and then is
gone; its area of effect cannot be moved.

The spell affects creatures within the
area of effect who are of only three spe¬
cific sorts. Undead, magically created or
animated creatures, and magically con¬
trolled creatures that have fewer than 6
HD are automatically affected. Any crea¬
ture of this sort who has 6 HD or more
must save vs. spells to avoid being affected
by a disruption spell (even if it wants to be
affected). If the save succeeds, the crea¬
ture escapes disruption but is stunned for
1-2 rounds.

Immunity to Undeath

(Abjuration, Alteration, Necromancy)

Level: 9 Components: V,S,M

Range: 0 CT: 1 rd.

Duration: 1 rd./lvl. Save: None

AE: 40'-radius sphere

This spell creates a globe that moves
with and is centered on the caster. The
perimeter of this protected area glows
with a very faint blue-white radiance,
visible only in gloomy or dark surround¬
ings. All creatures can freely pass into and
out of the globe.

Within the globe, all beings are rendered
immune to energy-draining attacks,
strength-draining attacks, mental control
(even of one undead by another), and all
undead powers that cause fear, paralyza-
tion, aging, or death (such as the wail of a
banshee).

A creature leaving the globe becomes
normally vulnerable to undead attacks but
can regain protection by reentering the
globe any number of times until the spell
expires. A being on the perimeter remains
completely protected as long as any part
of its body is in contact with the globe.

Undead can freely enter or leave the
globe, and their physical attacks do nor¬
mal physical damage. Undead can be
turned with the usual chances within the
globe. Undead cannot change form within
the globe (e.g., a vampire cannot turn
from gaseous to solid form or vice versa),
nor can undead be animated by any crea¬
ture or means within the globe. Shadows
and other hard-to-discem undead are
clearly outlined at all times while within
the globe and are rendered vulnerable to
all weapons.

The caster cannot end the spell's effects
before the spell expires. Only a dispel
magic spell can destroy the globe. Other¬
wise, spell-casting may be freely under¬
taken within the globe, by the caster of
the immunity spell or by or others.

The material components of this spell
are a drop of the caster's blood, a seed
from any plant, and a drop of holy water.

The Tome of the
Wyvernwater Circle

Appearance: This tome is two octagonal

half-rounded slabs of shadowtop wood
enclosing 16 vellum pages. Each page
contains a single druidic prayer (written
spell) as follows: detect magic, faerie fire,
invisibility to animals, pass without trace,
wailing wind (a unique spell), cure light
wounds, fire trap, locate animals or plants,
produce flame, touchsickle (a unique
spell), call lightning, cure disease, flame
shield (a unique spell), hold animal, mold
touch (a unique spell), water breathing.

The book is old and well-worn, but pro¬
tective magicks prevent normal heat,
flame, water (even a heavy rainfall), or
cold from harming it.

History and description: The Wyvern¬
water Circle was a group of druids who
flourished over 200 years ago, when elves
ruled the western Dragonreach and much
of Cormyr and what is now the Dales was
still cloaked in heavy forest. The Circle (of
12 to 16 members; their numbers varied
over time) dwelt on the northern shores of
the Wyvernwater, at its eastern end. The
area they protected is now mostly rolling
farmland, although part of its easternmost
reaches survive as the Hullack Forest.

Hullack, leader of the Circle, was a firm
and true friend to the elves. It is said that he
lies buried in a hidden magical refuge
known as the Elfhold, somewhere in the
depths of the forest that bears his name.
Hullack created the tome, well aware of his
own mortality and of the need to preserve
the woodlands-a need that could only grow
more pressing as men became more numer¬
ous around the Wyvernwater. It was his
intention that the tome serve as an aid in
training new recruits to the Circle. The book
could also aid the druids' allies in the defense
of the trees if the Circle were absent, weak¬
ened, or destroyed.

In the end the Circle did fall, battling
beholders who were served by gargoyles,
bugbears, and quicklings. The eye tyrants
sought to establish a realm in the area,
where they would be served by human
and elven slaves (whom they might herd
like cattle and hunt for sport and food).

The Circle slew at least five eye tyrants
and drove the rest northward into the
mountains. The fell woodland where the
beholders continue to lurk is known today
as the Spiderhaunt Wood, although it was
not then isolated from the great forest that
covered all the land from the advancing
desert of Anauroch to the coastal marshes
of the Inner Sea. The tome was lost in the
battles at which the Circle members were
slain; driven mad, or scattered. Today, the
tome's whereabouts are unknown.

The contents of the Tome of the
Wyvernwater Circle come down to us
from surviving initiates of the Circle, and
include four prayers said to have been
given to Hullack by the goddess Eldath
herself.

Wailing Wind

(Alteration)

Level: 1 Components: V

Range: 100'/lvl. CT: 1 rd.

DRAGON 61

Duration: 1 tum/lvl. Save: None
AE: Special

By means of this spell, a druid or other
priest creates a magical warning system.
When any creature enters a guarded area
(a passage, chamber, cavern, doorway, or
cave mouth of up to a maximum cubic size
per side of 10'/level of the caster), a wail¬
ing, whistling blast of wind blows from the
guarded area toward the druid.

The wind travels toward the druid re¬
gardless of intervening distance if the
druid is on the same plane as the guarded
area. The wind can reach up to 100' per
level of the casting druid. The wailing
wind has a distinctive tone and can be
heard by all creatures. It transmits and
magnifies any sounds (of speech, move¬
ment, etc.) made by the triggering being at
the time it is activated, and it can thereby
give any hearer a clue as to what sort of
intruder approaches.

The spell cannot be modified to be acti¬
vated by only specific beings or types of
creatures. Once the guarded area is en¬
tered and the wind rises, the spell is ex¬
hausted. The wind itself lasts for one
round per level of the druid, although the
caster may end it sooner.

Once ended, the wind cannot be re¬
started except as follows: As the level of
the caster increases, the number of activa¬
tions per single spell (i.e., the number of
blasts of wind, occurring for different
intruders at different times) is also in¬
creased. A caster of 1st or 2nd level cre¬
ates only a single-blast wailing wind; a 3rd-
or 4th-level caster creates a wind of two
blasts; a 5th- or 6th-level caster creates a
wind of three blasts, and so on (with no
known maximum).

Touchsickle

(Alteration)

Level: 2 Components: V,S

Range: 0 CT: 2

Duration: 2 rds./lvl. Save: None
AE: Self

By means of this spell, one of the caster's
hands temporarily becomes a magical
weapon. The extremity is able to strike all
creatures who can be hit by only magical
weapons (even if such creatures are nor¬
mally hit by only magical weapons of +2
or greater). The extremity gains no attack
bonus, but its slightest touch does the
same damage as a sickle (ld4 + 1 vs. S/M
beings; ld4 vs. L beings). Its touch can
slash or stab like a normal sickle, as the
caster wills.

A druid may use the enchanted extrem¬
ity to harvest greater mistletoe as though
it were a gold or silver sickle.

Flame Shield

(Evocation)

Level: 3 Components: V,S,M

Range: 0 CT: 3

Duration: 1 rd./lvl. Save: None
AE: Special

This spell brings into being a pulsing,

6'-high shield of darkness at the end of the

druids hand. The shield is weightless and
has no solid existence. Missiles and other
weapons and solid objects (including parts
of the caster's body) pass harmlessly
through it. The shield remains attached to
one of the druids hands (chosen in the
casting) unless the druid touches another
creature's hand and wills control of the
shield to pass to the other creature (who
must agree to the transfer or it cannot
occur).

The shield works against flame. Its touch
extinguishes normal torches, flaming oil,
and candles instantly. Larger fires are
diminished. A fireball striking or exploding
around the bearer of a flame shield, for
example, does only half damage.

A flame blade coming into contact with a
flame shield is harmlessly destroyed. A
flame shield can prevent a flame strike
only if it is directly in the path of the
strike (i.e., over the target's head). Flame-
related illusions, hypnotic patterns, and
the like have no effect on any being view¬
ing them through a flame shield.

A magical flaming sword striking
through a flame shield encounters no
resistance and does normal weapon dam¬
age (but not flaming damage). The shield
doesn't permanently affect the blade in
any way, but the part of the blade that has
passed through the shield remains free of
flames while any part of the blade is in
contact with the shield; thus a flaming
sword striking through a flame shield
cannot ignite a scroll or other flammable
object by touch.

The material components for this spell
are a piece of phosphorous, a drop of
mercury, and a cobweb.

Mold Touch

(Alteration)

Level: 3 Components: V,S,M

Ranger Touch CT: 3

Duration: Special Save: Special

AE: Creature touched

This spell empowers the druid to trans¬
mute mistletoe, holly, or oak leaves (the
material components) into brown mold
spores without harm to himself. Any crea¬
ture touched by the caster within six
rounds of casting is infected by brown
mold (an attack roll is required; if the
druid cannot touch any creature, the mold
spores vanish at the end of six rounds).

The mold spores created by this spell
cannot live on plant or inorganic material.
All the spores created by the spell are
transferred to any creature touched by
the druid. Thus, the druid can infect only
one creature per spell in the event of an
accident, it could well be a friend or ally).

A mold touch spell does 4-24 hp damage
to the target creature (half that if a saving
throw vs. spells is made). Brown mold
spreads upon the victim; in the second
round after the attack, the mold does 2-12
hp damage (save for half damage). On
every round thereafter, the victim receives
a saving throw vs. spells. If the save is
successful, no damage is taken and the

spell ends. If the save fails, the victim
takes 1-6 hp damage in that round

Brown mold created by this spell is of
limited duration, and a victim cannot infect
other creatures, even if intending to do so.
Magical cold harms mold created by this
spell in the usual manner (but also affects
the creature the mold is growing on).

The Hand of Helm

Appearance: This book is six handwidths
across by twelve handwidths tall and is
fashioned of sheets of polished electium.
These pages are stamped and graven with
the rimes and glyphs of prayers (clerical
spells), one prayer to a page. Each page is
linked to its fellows by two binding rings.
The rings are welded to inch-thick steel
covers worked to resemble overlapping,
rivetted armor plates radiating outward
from a single large staring eye (the badge
of Helm, god of guardians).

The tome is heavy (30 lbs.) and is cus¬
tomarily wrapped in turquoise velvet and
borne about upon an upturned shield
slung between two pikes carried on the
shoulders of four priests of Helm.

History and description: The origin of
The Hand of Helm (both the book and the
reason behind the name it bears) are lost
in the mists of time. This volume was used
by the traveling cleric Helbrace "Storm-
hammer" Orthom in the early days of
human settlement of the North. It served
to guide the prayers of the acolytes and
lesser brothers in Helbrace's service.
Helbrace was crippled in body and mind
at his greatest victory, the destruction of
the illithid-led ore horde known to bards
as the Everhorde, at the battle of Firetears
in the year 612 (Northreckoning). He was
taken to Neverwinter, where he lived out
the last of his days in peaceful idleness, his
mind clouded and wandering. The Hand
of Helm disappeared during the battle;
none know if Helbrace gave it to someone,
hid it, or lost it to misadventure or a foe.

Its present whereabouts are unknown.
Many clerics of Helm read from its pages
when Helbrace was active, and were free
to copy what they needed from it.

The Hand of Helm contains 27 spells,
one spell per page, as follows: bless, com¬
mand, cure light wounds, detect evil,
detect magic, light, protection from evil,
remove fear, resist fire/resist cold, detect
charm, hold person, know alignment,
continual light, cure blindness or deafness,
dispel magic, exaltation (a unique spell),
forceward (a unique spell), glyph of ward¬
ing, mace of Odo (a unique spell), remove
curse, speak with dead, abjure, detect lie,
neutralize poison, protection from evil 10'
radius, seeking sword (a unique spell), and
tongues.

Exaltation

(Abjuration, Conjuration/Summoning)
Level: 3 Components: V,S,M

Range: Touch CT: 1 rd.

Duration; 1 rd./lvl. Save: Special

AE: Creature touched

62 DECEMBER 1990

This spell enables a priest to aid and
protect any one other being. By touch, the
caster removes the effects of fear, sleep,
feeblemindedness, hunger, pain, nausea,
unconsciousness, intoxication, and insanity
from the spell recipient The recipient is
protected against spells and other attacks
causi ng these effects for the d u rati on of
the spell. Such effects are negated, not
postponed until the spell expires.

When this spell is cast on a being of
different alignment and faith than the
caster, the recipient makes a saving throw
vs. spells (even if willing). If the save is
successful, the spell is lost and has no
effect. If the spel I red pient is of the same
alignment as the priest but of a different
faith, the saving throw is at -4. If the
spel I i s successfu I, the exalted red pi ent
receives a + 1 morale and reaction/ attack
bonus. If the spell recipient worships the
same deity as the caster but is of another
alignment, the saving throw is at -6; a
successfully exalted recipient gets a +1
morale bonus. A recipient of the same
faith and alignment as the casta needs no
savi ng throw, gets a 4-2 morale bonus for
the spell duration, and (if the daic de¬
sires) can radiate a white, blue-white, or
amber faerie fire radiance for the spell
duration (if chosen, the radiance is e/oked
immediately and cannot be ended before
the spell expires).

A priest cannot cast this spell upon
himself. The mataial components of the
spell are a flask of holy wata and a pow-
daed sapphire or diamond (worth not less
than 1,000 gp).

Forceward

(Abjuration)

Level: 3 Components: V,S,M

Range: Touch CT:lrd.

Duration: 1 rd./lvl. Save: Special

AE: creature touched

By means of a string of gems, rock crys¬
tals, or glass beads and his holy symbol, a
priest can call into being a forceward. The
air within this sphaical area of protection
glows faintly; it is barely visible in full
sunlight but clearly lit in darkness.

All creatures except those touched or
named by the priest in the spell-casting
must make a saving throw vs. spells or be
forced away from the casta (for 10' per
level of the casta), withdrawing immedi¬
ately. Warded creatures must remain
outside the protected area for the spell
duration unless they save vs. spel Is at-3
to successfully break into the warded area
(one save pa round for each being at¬
tempting to enta).

Any creature breaking through the
forceward may move and act freely there-
afta but cannot confa freedom from the
ward to otha creatures, even by attempt¬
ing to drag them along. Any creature may
freely leave the warded area but must
successfully save to reenta, even if origi¬
nally named as protected or if successful
earlia in breaching the ward.

Missiles and spells may be launched

freely into and out of the warded area.

The forceward ends instantly if the casting
priest leaves its confines, is slain or ren-
daed unconscious, or wills the ward out
of existence. The casta may engage in
spel I-casting without affecting a force-
ward; continuous concentration is not
required to maintain it. A dispel magic
spell destroys a forceward instantly.

M ace of Odo (Evocation)

Level: 3 Components: V,S,M

Range: 0 CT:lrd.

Duration: 1-4 rds. Save: Special

AE: Special

By means of a stone, a piece of wood,
and two drops of holy wata, this spell
enables a priest to create a magical mace.
A mace of Odo is actually a mace-shaped
construct of force. It is translucent but
glows bright white (its radiance equal in
effects to a light spel I). The mace can be
wielded immediately when casting is com¬
plete, or it can be held for up to three
rounds. All spells cast at the beara of a
mace of Odo are absorbed harmlessly by
the mace (area-effect spells are not af¬
fected by such a mace).

A mace of 0 do stri kes at +5 to hit and
does 3-18 hp damage (424 hp to undead).
Whenever it stri kes, or four rounds afta
the round of its casting (whicheva comes
first), the mace vanishes instantly in a
burst of white radiance. Creatures of 2 HD
or less suffa only 1 hp damage when
struck by a mace of 0 do but must save vs.
paralyzation or be paralyzed for 2-5 turns.

Seeking Sword (Evocation)

Level: 4 Components: V,S,M

Range: 30' CT:7

Duration: 2 rds./lvl. Save: None
AE: Special

This spell brings into being a shimma-
ing blade of force that appears as a sword
of any description the casta desires. The
sword forms in mid-air and is animated by
the will of the casta (who need not eva
touch it), flashing about as it attacks.

The blade is silent (maneuvaability class
A) and fast (able to catch a quickling),
although it cannot move beyond spell
range from the casta. The blade can

strike four times pa round, doing 2-8 hp
damage with each successful hit.

Although it has no attack bonuses, a
seeking sword is considered a 44 magical
weapon for detamining what sorts of
beings it can strike. It can strike nonliving
objects and can be wielded dextaously
enough to lift latches, slide bolts open or
shut, turn pages of books, and so on. The
casta may freely move the sword from
target to target unless physical or magical
barrias (such as a wall of force) is in the
way, but the casta must concentrate on
the blade to maintain its existence and to
direct it (otha spell-casting is impossible).

A seeking sword moves with strength
enough to parry and hold back anotha
blade wielded by a strong human or hu¬
manoid. It can be used to shatta glass
objects, spike open doors, puncture sacks,
or search for unseen opponents by sweep¬
ing through apparently empty spaces or
across windowsills and thresholds.

The mataial components are a drop of
macury and a human hair. Q

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DRAGON 63

Robotech: The New Generation

Available on video tape from Palladium Books

At last, you can see the incredible REF Cyclone, Alpha, and Beta Fighters
in dynamic action against the insidious Invid!

This is the first time the Robotech 1 : The New Generation (a.k.a. Mos-
peada or Invid Invasion) has been made available on VHS video tape in North
America.

The New Generation portion of the Robotech™ television series is second
only to Macross in popularity. Yet most fans have never seen it.

Why? Well, it simply seemed to get less TV air time than the famous
Macross segments. Many syndicated stations opted to repeat the popular Mac¬
ross episodes rather than the entire series, never realizing how many fans
longed to see the New Generation. Likewise, the New Generation!Invids has
never been available on video tape. Until now that is.

Palladium Books* proudly presents
ROBOTECH : The New Generation
on VHS video tape.

The past unavailability of the New Generation (Invid) was a tragedy, because
it offers spectacular, dynamic and colorful animation, as well as great combat
scenes, a swift moving story, and the famous REF mecha, including the
Cyclones, Alphas, Betas, and Shadow Fighters.

The story is a gripping one of survival and courage, as a half dozen young
freedom fighters battle their way across the American continent, fighting against
staggering odds. Ultimately, their valiant efforts rekindle humankind’s spirit
and ends in the climactic battle at Reflex Point (and it is a climax that’s as
exciting as one can get).

The first New Generation/Invids video tape presents the first three
episodes, The Invid Invasion, The Lost City, and Lonely Soldier Boy. Witness
the swift and terrible invasion of the Invid, the arrival of Scott Bernard and

the destruction of the second REF assault fleet. Scott immediately meets the
wilderness scout, Rand, and the two embark on adventure. By the end of the
third episode, our cast of heroes is complete, Scott Bernard, Rand, Rook,
Lunk. Annie, and the infamous Lancer (a.k.a. Yellow Dancer).

Robotech fans take note!

• All 25 episodes will be presented in their original, televised form.
Uncut and unedited!

• There will be eight tapes in the video tape series. Three complete
episodes will be presented on each tape (only number seven will contain
four episodes).

• Running time approximately 76 minutes.

• Sorry, VHS Only!

• Glorious Color!

• Unrated. Does contain violence (it is a war story).

• Suggested retail price is $29.95.

• Available in hobby stores and comic book shops everywhere. Or di¬
rectly from Palladium Books® by mail at $24.95 plus $5.00 for first
class postage and protective bubble envelope and handling.

• The first Robotech New Generation video tape should be in the
stores mid October. Features an original cover by artist Kevin Long.

• The second tape will be available in December. A new tape will be
released approximately every two or three months thereafter.

Palladium Books® 5926 Lonyo Detroit, MI 48210

Palladium Books 8 ,
your Robotech connection!

Monsters have feelings, too

At their worst, fantasy-game monsters
are bunches of statistics that loll around in
dark places waiting to be butchered. They
come to life only when adventurers kick in
the doors to their rooms and attempt to
steal their treasures.

In extreme cases, monsters seem to
survive on air, lacking even basic necessi¬
ties like water and food. They live next
door to creatures that would cheerfully
devour them for breakfast. In settings like
these, deafness or selective hearing defi¬
ciencies are often widespread. Monsters
carry on their lives, blissfully unaware
that in the next room their neighbors are
being dismembered and incinerated by
treasure-hungry adventurers.

We've all seen the above at one time or
another. Hordes of monsters stuffed into
small rooms were once a staple of fantasy
role-playing adventures. These days, we
expect a little more in our gaming ses¬

sions. Role-playing has become more
narrative-based; plots and character devel¬
opment have taken over from the old-style
dungeons where characters started at the
top and chopped and blasted their ways
down to the bottom.

At the same time, our expectations of
what constitutes a monster have changed.
Now, listings of combat abilities and equip¬
ment no longer seem adequate. We look
for much more: How do the monsters live,
sleep, eat? How do they view the world,
one another, and other races? What moti¬
vates them in their dealings with others?
Do they act from fear, mindless aggres¬
sion, or the pressures of an expanding
population? How has their history and
racial development colored their attitudes?
Do they look to the deities and immortals
to aid them, or do they worship the gods
out of fear?

Background is important in bringing any

nonhuman race to life. A race that is
firmly based within the game world is
much more believable than one that is
simply dumped into a dungeon room with
no means of survival. Background pro¬
vides GMs with adventure hooks and
excellent role-playing opportunities. It is
also important if members of that race are
going to be used as player characters.

No one is going to seriously suggest that
you play a green slime or giant slug, but
there are creatures out there that can be
lots of fun to play. For a start, you can
take on the role of the bad guys and go
whack on the humans, elves, and halflings.
Also, playing nonhumans or monsters can
be a great role-playing experience in itself.

This month we take a look at five sup¬
plements that deal with monster and non¬
human races and cultures. In addition to
providing GMs with background informa¬
tion, these supplements allow the featured

DRAGON 65

races to be used as player characters.

Trollpak

RUNEQUEST® game supplement
The Avalon Hill Game Company $18

Boxed set containing one-page information
sheet, 56-page Uz Lore booklet, 50-page
Book of Uz, 40-page The Munchrooms
booklet, one-page black and white map,
large color map of the troll lands, pad
of six troll character sheets, and four-
page Thunderbreath Gobblegut's Res¬
taurant menu

Design: Greg Stafford and Sandy Petersen
Additional material: William Dunn, Charlie
Krank, and Lynn Willis
Editing: William Dunn and Lynn Willis
Cover illustration: Steve Purcell
Interior illustrations: Lisa Free, James
Kevin Ramos, and Steve Purcell

Before looking at this new edition of
Trollpak, a little history is in order.

Trollpak was originally released by
Chaosium, Inc. in 1982. It consisted of
three booklets and three smaller folios
that between them took an extensive look
at trolls in the RUNEQUEST game. Now
the contents of the original Trollpak have
been updated to the third-edition RUNE¬
QUEST game and split into four products:
Trollpak, Into the Troll Realms, Troll Gods,
and a forthcoming supplement on the
Sazdorf Clan of trolls.

Into the Troll Realms consists of troll-
oriented adventures and was reviewed in
DRAGON® issue #148. Troll Gods is re¬
viewed later in this article.

Background: Even though reduced in
size, Trollpak remains one of the best
treatments of a nonhuman face available.
Designed for use with the world of Gloran-
tha (see DRAGON issue #161), it details the
origin and development of the trolls in
terms of Glorantha's mythic history.

Trolls have played an integral part in the
development of Glorantha and have suf¬
fered greatly. In the early period of
Glorantha their fertility goddess. Korast¬
ing, was imprisoned in the lands of the
dead following the arrival of the sun god
Yelm into the lands of darkness. The loss
of Korasting caused a change in the trolls'
offspring. Instead of continuing to pro¬
duce members of the ancient Mistress
Race, trolls began to give birth to Dark
Trolls. Even worse, the trolls were fore¬
most in the wars against chaos and be¬
came cursed as a result. The Trollkin
Curse, as it is known, further interfered
with troll reproduction. Under its influ¬
ence, over half of all troll pregnancies are
premature and result in trollkin births.
These creatures are weak, stunted trolls
who never grow to full maturity; they are
treated as slaves and as food sources by
the trolls.

Other aspects of troll history and devel¬
opment are further detailed in Book One:
Uz Lore. The historical and mythic back¬
ground is extensive and forms the main
part of the book. Other information is

broken up into sidebars or annotated
anatomical diagrams. The way that trolls
refer to themselves as Uz (literally "us") is
described, as are the way trollkin are
divided into various castes ranging from
the prized "values" to the lowly "food"
trollkin.

Trolls can eat almost anything, and we
are treated to extensive descriptions of
what this means in practice. One of these
descriptions is "Uz Food Preferences: An
Experiment" in which a researcher feeds
selected items to a troll. During the experi¬
ment, the troll eats a wide variety of items:
a silver finger ring, an obsidian arrow
head, a small wooden drum, a small glass
disk, a leather and brass lantern (with oil),
and other equally unlikely items.

This book winds up with a look at some
typical troll lairs and at the giant insects
that the trolls breed as pets, beasts of
burden and as food.

Game mechanics: The game mechan¬
ics fit smoothly and neatly into the RUNE¬
QUEST game, being logical extensions of
existing rules rather than new systems.
Book Two: Book of Uz contains troll
character-generation rules and informa¬
tion on troll society for player characters.

It looks at the ceremonies conducted when
a troll reaches adulthood and maturity, as
well as more background information on
this fascinating race.

Then the cult of the trolls major deity,
Kyger Litor is described in detail. This
entry is far larger than the one in Gods of
Glorantha (see DRAGON issue #127) and
covers all aspects of Kyger Litor worship
and cult membership.

The remainder of the book is taken up
with stats for various beetles and encoun¬
ter tables for use in troll lands. The
encounter tables are followed by brief
descriptions that flesh out each encounter.

Adventures: Book Three: The Mun¬
chrooms is a fairly straightforward
dungeon bash suitable for use with troll
player characters, rebellious trollkin char¬
acters, or human adventurers. Taken from
the trolls point of view, the adventure is
okay. The troll PCs accompany a troll hero
and his buddies on a raid on the trollkin
infested caverns. Given the number of
NPC trolls involved, the PCs are likely to
spend a lot of time just standing around.

When played from the trollkin's point of
view, the adventure is much more exciting.
The PCs have to organize defenses and beat
off repeated attacks by the trolls. It is likely
that the trolls will eventually win, so the
adventure is really only useful as a one-off,
unless the GM allows the PCs to escape.
Human PCs can join in on either side.

While The Munchrooms is okay, it fails
to do justice to the extensive background
information of Trollpak. I would have
much preferred to see a more role¬
playing-oriented adventure in which the
PCs get to interact with troll culture in a
more meaningful way. Admittedly, the
adventures in Into the Troll Realms go a
long way to doing that, but it would have
been nice to see troll culture and society
more in the forefront here.

Presentation: The presentation of
Trollpak is very high. Illustrations are used
as an integral part of the product to depict
aspects of troll culture. The text is very
well presented, with good use of sidebars
and short essays.

Of special mention is the Thunderbreath
Gobblegut's Restaurant menu. This four-page
card menu presents such culinary delights
as trollkin burger, batter-fried pixies, dwarf
haunch, and elf torso, all illustrated for your
dining and viewing pleasure.

Evaluation: Even given the way the
original Trollpak has been split across four
products, the new Trollpak is still a sub¬
stantial supplement. It provides an exten¬
sive look at trolls in the RUNEQUEST game
and presents the information in a very
usable format.

On a negative note, only the cult of Kyger

66 DECEMBER 1990

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Litor is described in any detail; to get the
same level of information for the other cults.
Troll Gods is essential. However, shorter
descriptions of five of the major deities can
be found in Gods of Glorantha.

Even so, Trollpak is an excellent example
of how to breathe life and creativity into
nonhuman races, and I recommend
Trollpak to anyone interested in seeing its
superb presentation. Trolls in the RUNE-
QUEST game may be monsters, but they
are well characterized and believably
motivated.

Troll Gods

RUNEQUEST® game supplement
The Avalon Hill Game Company $20

Boxed set containing one-page information
sheet, 88-page Troll Cults booklet, 28-
page background booklet, and large
two-color map

Design: Greg Stafford, Sandy Petersen,
and William Dunn

Editing: William Dunn and Sandy Petersen
Cover illustration: Tom Sullivan
Interior illustrations: Dave Dobyski

Troll Gods is a companion product to
Trollpak. It describes 15 troll deities in
great detail and makes available new cult
spells and skills. Seven of these deities
appeared in the original Trollpak set and
are reproduced here unchanged. The
others, to my knowledge, are fully de¬
scribed here for the first time.

The deities are interesting and add to
our knowledge of troll lore. Here we get
details of: Aranea, Goddess of Spiders;
Argan Agar, God of Surface Darkness; Mee
Vorala, Goddess of Fungi; Xiola Umbar,
Goddess of Compassion; and Zorak Zoran,
God of Hate, among others.

The range of deities is extensive, show¬
ing the diversity of troll beliefs and cul¬
tural expression. For some reason, the
Kyger Litor entry from Trollpak has been
reproduced verbatim. It could be claimed
that this has been done for completeness,
but anyone who buys Troll Gods is likely
to already have a copy of Trollpak. The
Kyger Litor entry is eight pages long, an
excessive amount of material to repeat. It
would have been better if the space had
been used for something else or if the
overall size of the book had been reduced.

The background booklet contains vari¬
ous essays on troll life and religion, com¬
piled by the sage Minaryth Purple. It takes
a look at troll history and religious prac¬
tices through the eyes of various outsid¬
ers. The text provides useful insights into
troll life and offers various interpretations
of their religious practices.

Presentation: With the exception of
the cover illustration, the artwork in Troll
Gods is of very questionable quality. The
full-page drawings appear childishly ren¬
dered. Rather than enhancing the product,
they detract greatly from it.

In one place, text in the background

booklet ends in mid-sentence with no
indication given of where it continues.
Otherwise, the presentation is clear and
concise, with each deity and associated
cult information neatly described.

Evaluation: To GMs and players seek¬
ing to get the most out of Trollpak, Troll
Gods is essential. To anyone interested in a
good guide to nonhuman deities. Troll
Gods is also useful. But given the repeti¬
tion of information from Trollpak and the
poor quality artwork, I cannot really rec¬
ommend Troll Gods to anyone else. Check
out Trollpak first, then decide whether
you want the additional information from
Troll Gods.

RUNEQUEST game products are availa¬
ble from The Avalon Hill Game Company,
4517 Harford Road, Baltimore MD 21214.

PC 1 Tall Tales of the Wee Folk

D&D® CREATURE CRUCIBLE™ supplement
TSR, Inc. $9.95

64-page booklet, 32-page adventure book¬
let, two-panel card cover
Design: John Nephew
Editing: Gary L. Thomas
Cover illustration: Keith Parkinson
Interior illustrations: Valerie Valusek

The D&D game's Known World has
received plenty of coverage in recent
years. Thirteen Gazetteers and the Dawn
of the Emperors boxed set have done a
fine job of detailing many interesting and
fascinating cultures, human and nonhu¬
man. We've seen Gazetteers covering the
elves, dwarfs, and halflings, and the ores,
goblins, ogres, and trolls of the Broken
Lands. The Ores of Thar (see DRAGON
issue #148) even gave players the chance
to take on the roles of humanoid scum by
providing character-generation rules and
experience-level tables.

With the release of the CREATURE
CRUCIBLE series, the opportunities for
nonhuman role-playing have expanded
even further. PCI Tall Tales of the Wee
Folk is the first of three of these supple¬
ments. PC2 Top Ballista is reviewed hereaf¬
ter. (Because I designed PC3 Tire Sea
People, I'm unable to review it.)

In Tall Tales of the Wee Folk, we enter
the woodland realm of the Dreamland.
Ruled by the fairy king, Oberon, the
Dreamland is home to many creatures
drawn from diverse mythological sources.
Here, Celtic sidhe rub shoulders with
ancient Greek centaurs and fauns. While
this is keeping with the eclectic back¬
ground of the D&D game, it tends to blur
differences between the two cultures,
detracting from the overall cohesiveness
of the product. Other creatures covered
are brownies, dryads, hsiao (large, intelli¬
gent owls), leprechauns, pixies, pookas
(shape-changing pranksters), sprites,
treants, wood imps, and woodrakes.

Background: The races are introduced
and described by knowledgeable charac¬
ters who tell us how each race lives, what
they look like, how they dress, their cul-

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tural outlooks and aspirations, and other
relevant pieces of information. This is
followed by game-orientated information
that lists experience levels and relevant
special abilities.

Each race is neatly handled, and players
are given plenty of good role-playing
hooks. Occasionally the text lapses into
game terminology in the middle of charac¬
ter speech, and that jars the narrative.

The background information on the
forest realm is useful and contains some
very nice touches, such as the way the
Fairy Court holds its meetings using a
timestop spell.

Game mechanics: Tell Tales of the
Wee Folk follows the design guidelines set
out in The Ores of Thar, but compared to
its predecessor, it does not quite come up
to scratch. In The Ores of Thar, large and
powerful creatures, such as trolls and
ogres, start off as young members of their
race who have to work their way up to
normal monster level. A troll starts off as a
whelp, and an ogre as a youngster; both
terms conjure up neat images of immature
monsters. Unfortunately, creatures in PCI
start the game with negative experience
points, so we start with a -4,000 XP cen¬
taur. Not very inspiring, is it? Surely, titles
like "colt" or "young" would have been
better. A bit of time and effort taken here
would have improved this product tre¬
mendously and helped to have pushed the
game mechanics into the background.

A few other design problems occur in
PCI. Character races are described as
making saving rolls as clerics, fighters,
magic-users, etc. of the same level. That's
fine, but how does a creature that has not
achieved 1st level make saving throws as a
cleric of any level? Setting saving throws
according to the number of hit dice would
have been preferable, at least until the
creature's level exceeded its hit dice.

Also, creatures fight according to their
numbers of hit dice, but no indication is
given on how to handle the combat abili¬
ties of high-level creatures who no longer
increase in hit dice at high levels. These
creatures gain a fixed number of hit points
per level instead, as do high-level human
characters.

In other areas, PCI is much better. The
relative experience-level costs are well
balanced, with no race being more power¬
ful than another. The new fairy spells are
good and give a distinct flavor to these
whimsical and fun creatures. Players and
GMs can have a lot of fun with the crea¬
tures featured here; there's plenty of
scope for humorous role-playing, particu¬
larly with the pooka and farm.

Even GMs who have no desire to let
their players deviate from the straight and
narrow world of humans, dwarves, elves,
and halflings will find that PCI has a lot to
offer. Now, with their ability to improve in
levels, even diminutive pixie and sprite
NPCs can become a challenge for high-
level characters.

Adventures: The 32-page adventure

book features six short 1-2 page adven¬
tures and a longer 15-page adventure.

They cover levels one through 26, and are
useful when you need woodland modules.

The 15-page adventure, "The Lost Sene¬
schal," is for lst-3rd level characters.

While interesting and having an other¬
worldly feel to it, the use of a basilisk in a
pivotal encounter makes me very uneasy.
Even though the PCs get an indication that
it's there, any creature that turns charac¬
ters to stone simply by looking at them has
the potential for bringing the adventure to
a dead stop. ("We failed our saving throws.
What now?")

Presentation: The presentation is
generally quite high, but it lacks the neat
integration of graphics and text found in
Trollpak. Some of the character voices are
a little dry in places, conveying the infor¬
mation in a scholarly tone rather than in a
more conversational one. But this is hardly
a major problem.

Evaluation: Tall Tales of the Wee Folk
contains some very good ideas, particu¬
larly in its background sections. But it fails
to live up to the very high standards set by
The Ores of Thar. It does a good job of
introducing us to the woodland creatures
and expanding on the information con¬
tained in the rulebooks, but suffers from a
number of minor design problems. Even
given these. Tall Tales of the Wee Folk is a
fine product.

PC 2 Top Ballista

D&D® CREATURE CRUCIBLE supplement
TSR, Inc. $9.95

64-page booklet, 32-page adventure book¬
let, large color map, two-panel card
cover

Design: Carl Sargent
Editing: Paul Jaquays
Cover and Interior Illustrations: John
Lakey

In Top Ballista, we take to the skies to
visit the aerial city of Serraine. There we
get to meet the flying aces of the Top
Ballista squadrons and marvel at those
glorious gnomes in their flying machines.
That's right. PC2 gives you nifty First-

World-War-style fighter planes, complete
with deadly lightning guns and synchro¬
nized crossbows.

Background: Top Ballista takes a hu¬
morous look at the sky gnomes and their
bizarre yet workable inventions. The city
flies over the Known World carrying its
inhabitants with it. Creatures featured in
this product are faenare (birdmen),
gnomes, gremlins, harpies, nagpa (vulture¬
headed guys), pegataurs (winged cen¬
taurs), sphinxes, and tabi (catlike
creatures). What do these creatures have
in common? They all live in Serraine.

As in PCI, each of races is introduced by
a character who gives us the lowdown on
cultures, evolution, and lifestyles. This text
is presented in a cheerful and illuminating
manner that captures the flavor of the city
and its inhabitants nicely.

Game mechanics: In this area, PC2 is
much less successful, showing signs of not
having been designed or edited very thor¬
oughly. Some areas are markedly better
than others, but I found enough mistakes
and poorly considered areas to give me
cause for concern.

Let's start with some of the creature
designs. Some creatures starting with
negative experience points are described
as being "young" or "teens," while others
are listed as starting with negative XP
totals. This is an improvement over PCI,
but why aren't all of the character races
given a consistent treatment?

Also, I'm not convinced that much
thought has gone into balancing the abili¬
ties of these creatures. The sphinx, for
instance, requires 300,000 XP to progress
from a beginning 2-HD monster to a 3-HD
monster. Given the same number of expe¬
rience points, a human fighter will have
attained 9th level.

With the nagpa we have a similar prob¬
lem. A beginning nagpa needs 100,000 XP
to progress. Okay, this is less than a
sphinx, but the nagpa then goes from 2
HD to 4 HD! Another jump occurs when it
accumulates another 200,000 XP and goes
from 4 HD to 6 HD. A 1-HD increase per
level would have been preferable and
would have at least kept the XP cost down

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DRAGON 69

to 50,000.

Given the high XP costs, sphinx and
nagpa PCs are going to progress very
slowly in comparison to other characters.
This has the potential to be a very frus¬
trating experience in itself. It also leads to
sphinx and nagpa characters being left
behind as other creatures and characters
increase in level. In acampaign in which
only nagpa and sphinxes are played, it's
less of a problem, but as it stands it's way
out of line with normal expectations. On
the positive side, these creatures have
some powerful abilities to compensate, but
these fail to balance out the disproportion¬
ate XP costs paid for them at low levels. If
these PCs could have paid more XP later
when they were more established, it
would have been far better.

Elsewhere, other problems exist.

Faenare experience-level tables do not
match the examples and references in the
text. Harpies are shown as having two
almost identical charm person abilities at
"young" level: the first ability gives their
victims a +2 bonus to saving throws, and
the second gives their victims a +1 bonus.
Pegataurs automatically progress as spell-
casters using the same table as elves. They
can, however, elect to follow the path of
the wicca (tribal magic-users). For this
they need Intelligences of 15+, and they
can progress up to 8th level in spell¬
casting ability by paying extra experience
points per level. By performing the addi¬

tional (and optional) rituals, they might
progress higher as wiccas than they can as
elves (which cuts out at 10th level). But
why would anyone want to follow a ca¬
reer that restricts them in their choice of
spells, offers no guarantees that they'll
ever achieve the same level of spellcasting
ability, and costs them additional experi¬
ence points to follow?

These flaws ruin what is in many ways a
fine product. The sky gnomes and their
ability to build machines using fantasy
physics are handled well. The faenare are
a finely detailed race with nifty powers,
able to create spell-like effects through
songs. The city is neatly described, and the
plane rules look like they'll work, although
they overlook such basic concepts as stall
speeds and acceleration/deceleration.

Adventures: There are three adven¬
tures for characters of various levels. The
first contains a basilisk that must be de¬
feated by the PCs. This looks like another
case of making the saving throws or hav¬
ing the adventure come to a grinding halt.

The longest adventure is for characters
of levels 7-11 and is set within the flying
city. The opening stages require a fair bit
of detective work from the PCs, but the
text suffers from a murky presentation
that makes it hard to follow. After the
investigation in the city, the PCs chase the
bad guy through the air in one of the
planes. But they are not allowed to catch
him or else the adventure comes to a
premature end. When the PCs follow him
to the next encounter area, the person to
whom he has fled for protection is likely
to zap him with a lightning bolt spell for
leading the PCs to his lair. Exit one villain,
to be replaced by a second one who ap¬
pears to exist for no other reason than to
fight the PCs. Even worse, this second
villain doesn't even bother to lock his door
(he forgets).

Presentation: The graphic presenta¬
tion is high, with a full-color map of the
city and excellent illustrations of the four
planes. The interior artwork captures the
humorous flavor of the product well, but
it is not used to enhance the text. For
example, there are no illustrations of a
faenare or tabi, and the only nagpa illus¬
tration is not near the nagpa entry.

Evaluation: Top Ballista suffers from a
large number of design flaws, which is a
pity as it has some great ideas and well-
written descriptive passages. The back¬
ground sections are generally very good,
making it a fun and unusual adventure
setting. Viewed as a source of background
information. Top Ballista is useful, but its
failure to provide balanced PC creatures
weakens it greatly. This one is for com-
pletists only.

GURPS® Fantasy Folk

GURPS game supplement

Steve Jackson Games $16.95

128-page perfect-bound book

Design: Chris C. McCubbin

Additional material: Loyd Blankenship and

Steve Jackson
Editing: Loyd Blankenship
Cover illustration: Ken Kelley
Interior illustrations: Evan Dorkin, Charlie
Wiedman, Angela Bostick, and Rick
Lowry

GURPS Fantasy Folk describes 24 crea¬
tures that can be used as player charac¬
ters or as monsters. These include: the
traditional dwarves, elves, and halflings;
woodland and aquatic creatures; and the
ores, goblins, giants, and other bad guys of
fantasy literature. The book is split into
two parts: extensive creature design rules,
and four-page descriptions of each of the
races. Let's start with the creature descrip¬
tions first.

Background: Each creature is de¬
scribed in terms of its psychology, ecology,
culture and politics. These provide good
insights into each of the races, but they
fall short of allowing them to be role-
played really effectively. While there is
nothing intrinsically wrong with the de¬
scriptions, they suffer from being de¬
signed for a generic setting. Instead of
getting creatures who are integral parts of
their fantasy world, we get creatures who
can be plugged into almost any world,
which gives them a fairly bland flavor.
Given the world of Yrth, described in the
GURPS Fantasy game, it's strange that
these creatures were not designed to be
part of it.

Game mechanics: The creatures are
designed and balanced using the extensive
guidelines at the front of the book. These
guidelines cover racial advantages and
disadvantages such as longevity and slave
mentality, each rated in terms of its char¬
acter design point cost. Using these com¬
prehensive guidelines, any kind of
creature can be designed for the GURPS
game. The use of point costs acts as an in¬
built balancing device: Any creature that is
too powerful is going to cost too many
character points for players to afford.

Presentation: The cover artwork is
exceptionally good, but the internals are
only average at best. Each race is illus¬
trated, so there is no doubt about its ap¬
pearance. It's just a pity that the
illustrations are not of a higher quality.

Evaluation: GURPS game players look¬
ing for nifty creature design rules will not
be disappointed in this product. With a bit
of work, the creatures can be integrated
into any fantasy world, which makes them
useful to GMs looking for ideas rather
than finished settings. To those looking for
detailed descriptions of how these crea¬
tures interact with a given world or set¬
ting, GURPS Fantasy Folk is far too generic
to offer more than just a brief glimpse.

This is available from Steve Jackson
Games, Box 18957, Austin TX 78760. Q

70 DECEMBER 1990

The Earth has been inadvertently transformed in a cataclysmic event that
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trans-dimen sional rifts open the fabric of space and time, releasing unspeakable
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DRAGON 71

72 DECEMBER Vm

David 0- Hillnr

The Mechanics of the

A mechanical serpent has no ecology

by Spike Y. Jones

"As you can easily hear, Grainne, our
own crwth is much gentler in tone than
the quayteros of the worshipers of Ishtar
the Dancer. Now, compare my telyn with
this other harp called a kissar. It's made
from the skull of a minotaur that has had
strings attached to its horns by—"

"Look at Aidan! Look at Aidan!" cried
Fiona, interrupting the bard in midlesson.

"If you're trying to look like a fool,

Aidan, you're doing a good job of it," mut¬
tered the children's older sister.

"I'm trying to get this horn to blow,
Grainne, but it just won't work,"

"That 'horn' is actually a very rare in¬
strument in this country," said the bard,
"for I found it in a land beyond the Imbran
Mountains and, indeed, beyond the des¬
erts on their nether side. It is a 'naganai.' "

"A what?" asked the red-headed boy.

"A 'snake-flute,' in the language of a man
named Gawara Hawara."

"It doesn't look like a flute," observed
Grainne.

"Or a snake," added Fiona.

"And it doesn't sound like either," added
Aidan with a grin as he handed the tube of
wood and metal to its owner, who took it
in his right (and only) hand.

"That's a part of its special magic," said
the bard.

"Magic? Like in the stories?"

"Yes, Fiona, magic like in the stories."

"And was there magic when you got the
flute?"

"Yes, Aidan, there was magic in the 'nai,
and there was magic all around it, and
there is magic in it still."

"And will you please tell us about it, Mr.
Farwanderer?"

"I wonder how it was that I knew what

the next question asked of me would be?
Yes, Grainne, I will tell you this story, but
only as I can see that otherwise our music
lesson will go no farther this day. Fiona,
bring me the other naganai, the polished
wooden one, from my instrument satchel.
Aidan, you get me a drink to wet my lips—
but only water, mind you; it's hardly past
dusk. And Grainne, you merely make
yourself comfortable here while the oth¬
ers are about their tasks, for you shall
have a task of your own—a musical task—
to perform later."

There had been a sound, and from close
by. It was not a proper command and had
been nothing at all intelligible, but it was
the first time in untold years and miles
that there had been a sound. The listener
hesitated in the near darkness - then
moved in that direction. It was so close.

"Years ago when I was still earning the
title 'Farwanderer,' for I had yet to see
many of the faraway places that by now I
have, I arrived in the city of Mangala on
the banks of the Porah River. I was travel¬
ing in those eastern lands looking for an
education of sorts and the means to sup
port myself until the education was
through. In Mangala I found what I
thought was a way to combine the two.

"The average person of that place is
much the same as those of Mardukan to
our south, but their magicians are of a
different sort entirely. While Mardukanian
spell-casters use their elaborate rituals to
ensure good harvests and to protect their
people from barbarian and monster at¬
tacks, Mangalan wizards use their magicks
to fabricate items of power for their per¬
sonal profit. And I had heard of one such
magical creation, rumored to be unique in

the world.

"This thing, called the Light of Surya,
was a flawless diamond that had been
magically engraved with the words to a
number of spells of great power. Fortu¬
nately, those spells could be cast only by
one strong of will and pure of heart, and
the mage who possessed the diamond,
Gawara Hawara, had neither, having
gained the periapt by way of a poisonous
snake, as he was both a coward and a
scoundrel. While I myself had not the . . .
magical aptitude to use such a device, I
thought that retrieving and returning it to
the rightful owners would be beneficial to
all involved—including myself," he added
hastily before Aidan could say the same. "I
was younger then, and willing to lay aside
my greatest talent for a bit of glory and a
chance at being killed." He hefted the
strange flute in his hand.

"Did you sneak in and grab it?" asked
Fiona.

"Or did you break in and fight for it?"
countered Aidan.

"Being not as rash as many another
young adventurer," the bard continued
blithely, "I did not present myself at the
mage's door and demand the return of the
periapt. Instead, remembering such sage
phrases as 'ignorance breeds indigence'
and 'over hurried, soon buried,' I decided
to first learn as much as I could concern¬
ing Gawara Hawara's security measures.

"The first thing I was told by those I
approached was that he guarded himself
and his treasures with snakes—mind you,
not just any snakes, but magical creatures
with scales of steel and blood of oil. 1

"These 'iron cobras,' for such were they
called, he constructed for himself in his
apartments and released to prowl the
courtyards and recesses of his mansion. It

DRAGON 73

was one such device as this that he sent to
slay the mage-priest of Surya to gain the
magical gemstone I sought, one of many
such stolen articles said to litter his quar¬
ters. Many a prospective pilferer had died
in the clutches of these cobras, and only
one, Asman, called 'the Lucky' after his
one encounter with the snakes, had sur¬
vived their attacks to tell me of their
effectiveness.

"But the theft and subsequent protection
of his ill-gotten gains were not all for
which Gawara Hawara used the cobras.

He would sometimes hire them out as
relentless assassins, even offering them to
high officials for legitimate purposes if the
price tendered was exorbitant enough.
Whereas a man being hunted by another
man could hope to use trickery or speed
to escape his pursuer, or could hope to
defeat him in combat if finally cornered,
the same could not be said of the man
chased by the iron cobras. The iron ser¬
pents were unceasing and never lost a
trail once they'd found it . 2 I was told that
they were invincible in combat. Worse
still, they often struck at night or when
their victim was unable to defend himself,
making maximum use of their stealth and
deadly poison.

"The cobras were not alive and did not
think for themselves. Instead, they fol¬
lowed the commands given them by Ga¬
wara Hawara. To ensure that the
commands could not be overheard and
then spoken by other men, he constructed
his serpents in such a way that they would
respond only to commands issued by way
of his flute, his naganai . 3 No one I spoke
with in Mangala knew, the songs he played
to command his snakes, as he refrained
from playing where he could be over¬
heard, unless the audience was not ex¬
pected to survive to pass on the time.

"So," said the bard, setting aside the
wood and metal 'nai and taking the plain
wooden one, "I first had to learn how to
play this instrument. Luckily, it being one
of the more popular of those played in
Mangala, I had my choice of many capable
tutors, and I quickly mastered its tech¬
niques of play. Aidan, you can try to play
this 'nai."

Aidan took the proffered instrument and
proceeded to produce two or three audi¬
ble but painfully bad notes before passing
it back to the bard.

"Now, give it to Grainne and we'll see
what sort of impression my chwibanogl
lessons have made on your sister."

The older girl accepted the 'nai, took a
few seconds to nervously adjust her
finger-holds, then played a halting but
recognizable scale on it.

"That's better, Grainne, especially as the
'nai can play notes quite different from the
chwibanogl you're used to. You will both
get the chance to continue with your
lessons while I continue with this story.
You'll play the times I show you, as it is not
easy for me," he said, raising his left arm
but not letting the concealing folds of his

sleeve drop away from its stumped end.
"Grainne shall play on the audible 'nai,
while Aidan will follow along silently with
the other."

Aidan's expression fell for a moment as
he took the silent 'nai. Perhaps Mr.
Farwanderer had given him the quiet
instrument to keep him from playing
badly again. But the barest hint of a smirk
tickled the corners of the bards mouth,
and the boy realized that there might be
other reasons for the choice of instru¬
ments. His usual smile resurfaced.

"Now, as I was saying," the bard re¬
sumed, his face regaining the serious
expression he wore during instruction,
"having learned to play the naganai, I next
went to discover the tunes Gawara Ha¬
wara used. Mangala being a city of ma-
gicks, I visited a guild of magicians and
asked if to borrow a scrying device."

"Scrying?" asked Fiona.

"That's like spying," replied Aidan, look¬
ing up from his fingering of the 'nai, "but
it's magic."

"By paying them a fair price, leaving the
rest of my instruments in their care as
collateral, and promising them further
payment if I was successful, I procured
the loan of a pair of magical eyepieces
known as 'eyes of the eagle.' Equipped
with these crystals, I rented a room on a
hill overlooking Gawara Hawara's house.
Although it was some distance away, with
the crystal eyepieces I could see the mage
as if he were but feet away from me.

Every time he came into my sight, I
watched him in hopes that he would give
some command to his cobras.

"A few times a day, he did make rounds of
his yards, inquiring of his constructs if there
had been any disturbances, then replaying
their original orders or changing them if
anything noteworthy had occurred.

"It took me a fortnight and more before I
felt confident that I had learned all of the
tunes I would need. I watched closely and
mastered the fingerings for a half-dozen
different commands." He reached for
Grainne with his one hand. "This," he said,
carefully raising and lowering her fingers
over the holes of the wooden naganai to a
simple beat, "was the command to attack
intruders. And this," he said, moving her
fingers through an identical pattern, "was
the command to report to Gawara Hawara."

"But they're the same," Grainne
complained.

"Ah, the fingerings are the same, but are
the songs?"

"If they were loud or quiet ..." said
Grainne after a thoughtful pause.

"Or if they were notes with the same
fingerings but different sounds ..." pon¬
dered Aidan.

",.. with different pitches, then the
songs would differ," finished the bard.
"Both good answers, and both correct. I
watched Gawara Hawara even more
closely for the next week to notice any
signs of intonation changes or octave
jumps. And by way of movements of his

cheeks and lips, the way he shifted his
head, and the way the muscles of his
throat and mouth tightened at certain
points, I was sure I had been able to deter¬
mine what all of the notes were and how
the songs were to be played. Now, try
blowing the tune the easiest way."

When Grainne played a passable version
of the song, giggling erupted from Fiona.

"I couldn't help it, Mr. Farwand'rer," the
child protested before the bard could
chastise her, "Aidan was blowin', too!"

"I thought you meant for both of us to
try it," Aidan answered as his teacher
turned toward him, a look of purest mis¬
chief belying his avowed innocence.

"Be that as it may, it would be to the
advantage of all involved if you merely
fingered along with your older sister and
left the cheek puffing to another time.
Now, Grainne," the bard continued, "if you
were to blow doubly hard when you reach
the third note, and only just whisper the
last, you will find that you can play notes
of different pitch at those two places, one
an octave above, and one an octave below
the normal pitch."

Grainne now played a tune quite similar
to the first with only the two requested
modifications.

"Very good! That first tune you played,
that Aidan tried to echo, was 'attack,' and
the second was 'report.' Of course, even if
properly played on the naganai in Aidan's
care, neither variation would be audible,
but the method would be the same, and I
assumed the result would be, too."

Once in a great while, the naganai's slave
would pass some of its smaller brethren
along its journey, lying damaged beyond
repair in the wastes of the desert or at the
bottom of mountain defiles, or even lying
rusted beneath the surfaces of still lakes
and slow rivers. All had tried to carry out
their last orders, and all had failed in their
attempts. But now the servant had a new
order, an order that would last until can¬
celed . 4 It moved quickly to fulfill its com¬
mand, iron fangs parting in anticipation.

"And then you got the thing?" asked
Fiona, attempting to steer the story firmly
away from the music lesson.

"Yes, dear, it was time to make my try
for the Light of Surya. I had watched the
mage until I had determined just these
sorts of differences between the tunes he
played regularly. There were slight varia¬
tions to some tunes played on different
days or in different places that apparently
made the commands more precise, but I
was confident that the general commands
I'd learned were sufficient.

"I readied myself in my least conspicu¬
ous clothing, secured my all-important
naganai and a few other tools of value,
belted on my smallsword, and made my
way through the dark of the night to his
mansion's outer walls.

"As I began my ascent, I thought for a
moment that I spotted movement farther

74 DECEMBER 1990

along the garden wall. But when I paused
to look more intently, I saw nothing. I told
myself that it was just nervousness and
finished the climb. From the walls top, I
looked for any sign of cobras in the yard
but saw none. One of the reasons real
cobras are dangerous is that they can
disappear in the darkness and under¬
growth as effectively as a skilled thief;
apparently, this is one of the reasons co¬
bras were chosen to model for these
constructs.

"I crept toward the manse across the
compound, headed for a small door that
I'd seen Gawara Hawara use but rarely—
and I was almost discovered. One of his
mechanical minions approached me along
the path, but apparently I saw it before it
saw me. I immediately stopped and at¬
tempted to blend silently into the same
shadows the cobras were using for con¬
cealment, as I did not want to betray my
presence by playing my 'nai too soon. The
silvery snake-stopped short of my conceal¬
ment and spread its hood out about its
head, turning in all directions as a human
would turn with a hand cupped to his ear . 5
Luckily, although it looked directly at me
for a time that felt like hours, it finally
refolded its hood and glided swiftly past.
Evidently, it was intent on finding some¬
thing or someone else.

"Shaken but not unnerved by this good
fortune, I waited until the iron serpent
was well gone, then made for the door. It
had been locked, but the device was a
simple one, the mage putting trust in the
abilities of his iron guardians to protect
him. I left the door ajar behind me, in case
I had no time later for a leisurely exit, and
I proceeded cautiously forward.

"It was not dark inside, for the mage had
attached some small globes to the ceiling
at intervals that cast magical light bright
enough to allow navigation of the corri¬
dors without fear of bumping against
walls or breaking crockery. I had no sure
idea where the periapt was secured, but I
assumed that it would be in the center of
the building, away from entrances as
vulnerable as the one I had come through,
and that it would be close to the rooms
Gawara Hawara occupied, mages and
misers often surrounding themselves with
their treasures. So, I made my way up¬
ward and inward.

"Stealing through the mage's apartments
was a nerve-wracking experience, as I
paused and hid at every imagined sound.
Although everything was sized for humans,
there were small holes cut into the walls and
doors to allow easy access for the snakes, a
fact demonstrated when another inattentive
iron sentinel emerged from one of these
channels a short distance ahead of me and
departed across the hall.

"I eventually ascended a flight of stairs
and arrived at a room that appeared to be
Gawara Hawara's personal quarters, and
hopefully of the Light of Surya. Gathering
my courage, I opened the last door and
entered the chamber. As I'd guessed, the

room contained a mass of treasure; silver,
gold, gems, jewelled arms and armor, and
beautiful works of art, all illuminated by
the magical light-globes fixed in the doubly
high ceiling. And nowhere could a cobra
be seen. Made bold by this wealth of
wealth and dearth of protection, I stepped
in and made for an alabaster pedestal in
the room's center, upon which shone the
gem I sought.

"And it was at this moment I learned
that it is never wise to assume the un¬
likely. For there I was in the most impor¬
tant room of the mage's lair, and it did not
enter my mind that he would have
guarded that room more effectively than
the rest of his demesne. Before I could
traverse half the distance to my goal,
something that I had previously taken to
be a rolled carpet 6 unfurled, showing itself
to be a shockingly huge iron cobra that
raised its head more than my own height
above the floor . 7

"Guessing that it would not be wise to
attempt to bluff this monster, I grabbed
my naganai and played the command song
for it to 'stand fast and report,' the time I
was most sure of. Now, Grainne, if you
remember it. . . ." he said expectantly.
Grainne raised the 'nai to her lips and
complied, and the bard returned to his
narration when she had completed a halt¬
ing rendition of the command. "To my
chagrin, the monstrous snake failed to
pause, continuing its measured advance.
Thinking that I'd mistaken the time, I
played another song" —at which point
Grainne played "return to patrols"
unbidden— "but it did me no better. The
cobra approached still.

"Realizing that there had somehow been
an error in my preparations, I drew my
smallsword and took a defensive stance.
Much faster than its stately stalking of me,
the automaton lashed out. Desperation
more than skill enabled me to jump aside
at the last possible moment. As I dodged, I
stabbed my blade at the automation, only
to have the weapon clang and shatter
against a surface stronger than my
swords cheap steel . 8 That action was my
last against the periapt's final warder.
Before I could even think of another at¬
tack to make, it reared up once more and,
with,a lightning lunge, thrust its fangs into
my shoulder and poisoned me."

Years of silence had been broken less
than an hour before by meaningless noise,
then again minutes later by an actual
command: the command to attack all but
the holder of the naganai. It should have
made no difference to the serpent, but it
seemed to move a trifle faster through the
darkness than it had before, as if to fulfil
this latest order before the holder of the
naganai could pick up and move away It
was the greatest of its kind. It would not
fail now.

"But you couldn't have been poisoned!
You're still alive! "

"The sting of a bee needn't kill to
frighten away a curious boy, Aidan, and
not all poisons need be fatal in order to be
effective . 9 In this case, it was enough for
the venom to leave me paralyzed, lying on
the flagstones until Gawara Hawara could
investigate the clamor we had made; after
that, my death would be assured.

"I was too distraught to judge the inter¬
val, but I imagine Gawara Hawara was not
long in coming. He was a tall man with a
shaven pate, and he was wrapped entirely
in many-layered green robes. A jewelled
dagger hung at his hip, and he had in his
hand the same silvered naganai that Aidan
now holds. With a most evil look on his
face, he approached to question me before
having me disposed of. But before he
could ask his first question, we both heard
a clinking sound from somewhere across
the room.

"Whirling about, Gawara Hawara saw
nothing. Only momentarily puzzled, he
lifted the naganai to his lips and began to
play. At first I thought the poison of the
cobra had deafened me, for I heard no
sound from the 'nai, but I soon realized
that it must be something else for I could
still hear the rustling of his robes. Immedi¬
ately after this realization, a normal-size
iron cobra appeared from one of the per¬
forations in the walls. Moments later,
another appeared, then a third. When
they'd halted before him, Gawara Hawara
played another silent tune and they
opened their fans, 'looking' for the unseen
intruder. I discovered then that part of the
magic of this naganai was that it could be
heard only by his iron legions.

"Of a sudden, one of the snakes ceased
its rotations and a whispering sound like
wind through dry leaves came from it . 10
Hearing this, Gawara Hawara played yet
another soundless song. Immediately, all of
his small charges made for the shadows
behind one treasure pile.

"Realizing that he'd been found out, a
man dressed all in black leapt from behind
an urn of coins and landed beside the
leading snake. Swinging downward with a
glowing sword, he struck its head off with
one blow, then grabbed its fallen body and
slung it about him, spraying the floor
between himself and the other snakes
with its ichor. Then, with extraordinary
calm, he took a handful of slim darts from
his belt and dipped their tips in the venom
dripping from the downed cobra's fangs.

"Not at all dismayed by this apparently
senseless act, the other snakes continued
forward, but once they arrived at the pool
of fluid their progress stopped. Writhe and
twitch as they might, they could neither
move forward nor retreat from the blood
of the fallen one . 11 That being the case, the
brazen thief walked up to the plinth and
plucked the Light of Surya that sat there.

"This I thought was the man's only mis¬
take, for he'd apparently forgotten about
the enraged Gawara Hawara. After the
mage recovered from his shock at the
scene, he uttered an oath in his foreign

DRAGON 75

tongue and desperately played the com¬
mand to attack once more.

"At this last command, the immense
serpent whose head had hung over me
now started after the thief. Audacious and
unafraid to the end, the man in black
stood his ground, selected an envenomed
dart, and calmly blew it through his dart-
tube at the mage. Not being interested in
watching his adversary fall dead to the
floor, he turned to where I lay on the floor
and removed the scarves he had worn to
hide his face.

"To my surprise, the man was familiar,
but it was not until he spoke that I recog¬
nized him. 'Thank you/ Asman the Lucky
said, 'for showing me the way into Gawara
Hawara's lair, and for showing me the
Light that I have sought all these years.'
Then he turned and ran down the stairs,
barely eluding the monstrous cobra that
followed in slow but determined pursuit.

"It took me some while to get up from
where I lay. Surprisingly, I was not at¬
tacked in that time. The snakes that had
been stranded in the oily puddle had evi¬
dently escaped and joined the pursuit of
Asman, and unless they caught him,
they're probably pursuing to this day. Only
the gods know where they've all gone
now."

On a chilly night like this, a human
would call the light streaming from the
windows of the two-storied building
friendly. To the long, sinuous figure in the
black street outside, the light was merely a
signpost that its mission was coming to a
close. With mechanical precision unham¬
pered by the dents and scratches it had
collected on its years-long journey, the
serpentine machine advanced on the inn's
front door to carry out the first order it
had received since it had left the tower in
Mangala. Its head lowered to serve as a
ram. The door would not hold beyond the
first blow.

"I was too weak from the lingering ef¬
fects of the poison to make much use of
the treasures piled around me, so I se¬
lected a few choice and expensive pieces
to make up for the loss of the prime trea¬
sure and limped out of the room. As I
passed the body that had been Gawara
Hawara, a cautious thought struck me and
I took from his hands the magical naganai
with which he had commanded his crawl¬
ing weapons. Then, knowing full well that
the rest of the booty would be long pil¬
laged before I could heal and return, I
painfully made my way back to my room
on the other side of Mangala. Through all
the intervening years, I have kept the
naganai here, just in case I should happen
to meet one of his iron snakes, still intent
on punishing the thief and I."

"Mr. Farwanderer, you can't play the 'nai
anymore, so why do you still keep it
around?"

"Ah, Aidan, while no one can play a song
on it, nor can I play many of the cobra's

commands, it might still be useful." He
took the instrument from the boy and
quickly, almost carelessly, fingering a short
flurry of soundless notes. "In an emer¬
gency, I need only remember that the tune
to make the snakes resume their normal
patrols, as if no enemy had been encoun¬
tered, needs but a single hand to play."

The serpent paused, head drawn back
and flattened for the blow. Yet another
new command had been given: "Resume
patrols in the compound in Mangala."
Clockwork eyes gleamed in the moonlight
as it appeared to considered the order and
reach a decision Then, in unhurried si¬
lence, the cobra turned its 18' of iron
power from its target and began the re¬
turn trip across the mountains, the des¬
erts, and the rivers to home.

Footnotes

Iron cobras are described in the AD&D®
1st Edition FIEND FOLIO® tome, pages
52-53. It is assumed herein that these
creations can be made by high-level wiz¬
ards, and that they are more common
than generally believed (they are certainly
far less powerful than iron golems). Iron
cobras have a 50% chance to hide in
shadows (the FIEND FOLIO tome says they
hide as well as 8th-level thieves, but this
chance is 49%).

1. While they exhibit some signs of life,
iron cobras are merely cunningly designed
magical constructs. Rare and expensive
materials, powerful spells, and secret
crafting techniques are required to build
them, with different combinations of these
creating iron cobras with different capa¬
bilities, Still, many components are held in
common by all such devices: mithral,
adamantite, or meteoritic iron; a vial of oil
of slipperiness; and many gemstones
crafted into gears and bits of machinery.
The cost of constructing even the smallest
of these automatons is 2,000 gp.

A mage owning a manual describing the
methods of constructing iron cobras will
protect it dearly, as it can fetch a price in
the hundreds of gold pieces—thousands if
it contains special directions such as those
for creating giant iron cobras.

As an aside, while these constructs are
the sort of thing that the tinker gnomes of
Krynn might manufacture, an iron cobra
appearing in a DRAGONLANCE® setting
would likely have come from some other
universe, as the cost for tinkers to make
an iron cobra would be well above 20,000
steel pieces. But if confronted with an iron
cobra or the remains of one, a tinker
would have to make a check vs. wisdom
on 2dl2 in order to tear himself away
from the fascinating device.

2. Iron cobras are not alive, so they do not
need food, water, or sleep, nor will they ever
forget a command or be distracted from a
task. Thus they make excellent servitors
and, because of their combination of track¬
ing and lethal combat capabilities, are some¬
times used by bounty hunters or even

respectable legal authorities.

3. Iron cobras can be commanded in
many ways, the means being decided upon
during creation. While most iron cobras
obey voice commands, some respond only
to coded messages, hand signals, nonver¬
bal sounds (such as musical instruments)
or other exotic or long-range modes of
communications. The manual used to
create an iron cobra includes a list of
possible command devices, so that a per¬
son possessing a deactivated iron cobra
and the manual from which it was created
could, through trial and error, determine
the one method of controlling it.

The commands themselves can be of any
sort the creator desires, from such simple
things as "attack," to complicated orders
such as "attack, targeting spell-casters
first, followed by elves, then by all others."
Whatever the commands, they must be
selected at the time of the cobra's creation;
it will answer to no commands not built
into it after that.

Whatever the commands and command
method decided upon, they must be indi¬
vidually programmed into each iron cobra
created. Thus the creator could use simi¬
lar but subtly different commands for
each of his constructs, so that determining
the commands for one might not help an
attacker use them against others. This
would also allow the controller greater
subtlety in issuing commands.

4. Many iron cobras are created with a
built-in "fail-safe" command that comes
into effect if the cobra spends a considera¬
ble length of time without receiving or¬
ders. Typical fail-safes include commands
to return to the cobra's creator, to its
owner, or to a specific place after a period
of time has elapsed (up to one year). Iron
cobras designed to be left alone for unlim¬
ited periods of time, such as guardians of a
tomb, sometimes use other fail-safes, such
as commands to slay all intruders, to pre¬
vent the theft of the treasures in the lair,
or to hide and await further instructions.

5. Every iron cobra can detect a single
specific property by spreading its hood
and orienting it on that quality. Typical
properties detected for are covered by
existing divination spells (e.g., good, evil,
magic, undead, invisibility, etc.); the ranges
and areas of effects are as if those spells
were cast by a 12th-level human mage,
with the divinatory ability being usable as
many times each day as desired. Other
divinatory properties can be used, but the
mage must have cast on the near-
completed construction a spell designed by
him for this purpose (for example:, a spell
that detects those who worship a particu¬
lar god, for one who plans to use his iron
cobra against the worshipers of an op¬
posed deity).

The iron cobra's construction manual
will list specific materials that must be
varied according to the detection spell
bestowed on the serpent (e.g., an iron
cobra designed to detect poison would
include eyes glazed with celadon, pur-

76 DECEMBER 1990

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ported to locate such substances, while
one designed to detect magic might re¬
place those eyes with eyes of magic¬
sensing star sapphires).

While an iron cobra is almost infallible
at detecting the property for which it was
constructed, it cannot serve every pur¬
pose. If a mage built an iron cobra to
detect evil, for use as a guardian of his
treasures, a neutral-good thief would
elude his precautions. Thus, owners of
more than one iron cobra often have them
constructed to detect different properties
such as evil, magic, and poison, in hopes
that intruders and victims will be revealed
by at least one of these traits.

Without its outspread hood, an iron
cobra is incapable of sensing anything
beyond that which is mundanely pre¬
sented to it by way of sight, sound, or
touch (unlike a real snake, it has no sense
of taste or smell). The hood has the same
armor class as the rest of the cobra, but
attacks specifically aimed at the hood can
damage it without destroying the cobra
itself. The hood has the equivalent of one-
fifth of the cobra's normal hit points
(never less than one point), but these
points are in addition to those listed for
the iron cobra and are not calculated into
its hit-point total for purposes of destroy¬
ing the machine or for experience-point
calculations.

6. The normal construction of an iron
cobra is such that it obviously appears to
be a machine. If its creator adds 10% to its
cost and construction time, the cobra can
be made to have some other outward
appearance, the most common of these
being the appearance of an actual cobra
(or other type of snake, if the hood and its
detection abilities are eliminated).

7. Most iron cobras are of the small and
inexpensive sort, but some are giants as
large as six times standard size. The cost
of manufacturing huge cobras is consider¬
ably more than six times that needed to
make normal iron cobras, running as high
as 50,000 gp depending on what "special
features" are included. Some mages would
spend those thousands on having many
normal iron cobras, but some consider it a
fair price for a huge serpent's capabilities
and its effect on enemy morale.

The giant iron cobra is identical in all
ways with the smaller version of the same
monster except as shown in the Iron Co¬
bra Table and in other notes here. Both
are unaffected by spells such as snake
charm. Although some think that cold or
lightning spells should have a special effect
on them, they are insulated so that they
suffer no more than any living creature
caught in one of these spells. Thus, an ice
storm cast on one would still do damage,
but it would have no extra effects due to
the nature of the target.

8. As iron cobras are made of exotic and
strong metals, laced together by powerful
enchantments, normal weapons used
against them do only half damage on a hit.
In the case of giant iron cobras, the metals

used are as much as six times as thick, and
the enchantments similarly stronger. Be¬
cause of this, the giant iron cobra's skin is
much tougher than that of the small ver¬
sion and a nonmagical weapon (which will
do the giant cobra no harm) has a possibil¬
ity of breaking against it. If the attacker
misses with a roll high enough to have hit
armor class 10, his weapon has struck the
snake's skin and, if it fails a saving throw
vs. crushing blow, it will shatter. Addition¬
ally, for every bonus point of damage done
due to the attacker's strength, the saving
throw for the weapon will be one point
worse because such forceful blows are
more likely to break the weapon. Thus, if
the sword of a character with a 16
strength was forced to make a save, it
would have a worse chance of making its
save than the weapon of a weaker charac¬
ter due to the stronger's +1 damage
bonus.

9. Just as the iron cobra can have any
sort of detection spell centered on its
hood, it also can be equipped with any
type of poison in its fangs. Poison can be
changed by the controller of the cobra
whenever desired by merely draining out
the old poison and replacing it with a new
one. Typical toxins include those that
cause damage or death, those causing
special effects such as paralysis, sleep, or
various discomforts (disease, allergies,
rashes, etc), and other, more exotic, sub¬
stances that can incapacitate or cause
insanity in victims.

Whatever the substance injected into the
victim on a successful hit, an iron cobra is
equipped with only 3-8 (ld6 +2) doses of it,
and they cannot withhold poison at will;
whenever they bite, if they still contain
poison, it will be delivered into their victim.

While giant iron cobras would appear to
have capacity for more poison than nor¬
mal ones, they still carry only 3-8 doses of
their poison, but have larger and more

Iron Cobra Table

potent doses. Thus, if the same poison is
used by both small and giant iron cobras,
that of the larger mechanism is 10% more
effective (save vs. poison at -2 beyond
any adjustments vs. the poison of the
smaller machine).

10. While iron cobras are usually given
instructions that preclude the need for
return communication ('kill all intruders"),
some mages consider it useful to allow
their charges to communicate information
as well as perform other tasks. The most
common method of doing this is to pro¬
gram certain movements of the cobra's
body to correspond to specific reports it is
likely to make. If this is done, a reporting
iron cobra will look very much like a live
snake as it sways its body and bobs its
head to convey a message to its master.

Although they are not normally con¬
structed for it, iron cobras can also be
built that have the capacity for rudimen¬
tary speech. Without lungs, lips, and other
sound-generating devices, they can be
made to "speak" by rasping together some
of the gears in their mouths and the plates
on their backs or hoods in code (so a short
mouth rasp might mean "intruders have
been detected," while a repeated scraping
sound might mean something as mundane
as "tea is being served in the library"). In
no case can an untrained person interpret
these noises or movements,

11. Most of the iron cobra's components

are reduced to useless scrap if it is de¬
stroyed, making its resale value after
destruction less than 10% of its intact
value, but some substances within it retain
their use if separated quickly from the
rest to prevent contamination. These
include the oil of slipperiness lubricating
its gears, which acts as described in the
Dungeon Master's Guide for 1-4 hours
after being removed from the cobra; and
its poison, which maintains its full effects
for 1-4 turns after removal. Q

CLIMATE/TERRAIN

Normal

Any

Giant

Any

FREQUENCY

Very rare

ORGANIZATION

None

ACTIVITY CYCLE

Any

Nil

DIET

Nil

INTELLIGENCE

Non (0)

TREASURE TYPE

2,000+ gp

25,000 + gp

ALIGNMENT

Neutral

NO. APPEARING

1(1-6)

ARMOR CLASS

- 2

MOVEMENT

HIT DICE

THAC0

NO. OF ATTACKS

DAMAGE/ ATTACK

1-3

1-8

SPECIAL ATTACKS

Poison

SPECIAL DEFENSES

See text

MAGIC RESISTANCE

Nil

SIZE

Small (3'long)

Huge (18'long)

MORALE

XP VALUE

270

1,400

78 DECEMBER 1990

AVALON HILL

Advanced Squad Leader.*

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' "What has he got in
his pocketses, anyway?"

Treasures that lead to adventures

At long last, the brave band of adventur¬
ers corner their arch-foe. Their blades
flash faster than his spells, and soon he
crumples lifeless to the ground. It's trea¬
sure time!

The wise Dungeon Master has prepared
what the party will find in advance, of
course—but what if the chosen treasure
seems boring or ill suited to a particularly
easy (or difficult) victory? What if the
player characters have ambushed a ran¬
dom NPC instead of their arch-foe or
(gulp!) have laid low the wrong spell-

by Ed Greenwood

hurler? Perhaps the play is a pick-up ses¬
sion, hastily organized by a DM who hasn't
prepared the loot beforehand. Or maybe
the DM is eager to find ways of introduc¬
ing intriguing subplots, red herrings, and
treasure trails for the PCs to follow up in
later play. All of these circumstances can
be handled in a variety of ways.

Here is one way to handle this problem,
used in many FORGOTTEN REALMS™
campaigns over more than a decade: the
Treasure Hook Table. Entries on this table
should be expanded, altered, or replaced

whenever an idea strikes. Every DM
should personalize such a table, and (of
course) should never use the same entry
twice. The following table is given as an
example only ("Change everything to en¬
tertain the guilty," as Elminster has been
known to say).

To use the Treasure Hook Table, roll
ld20 and refer to the indicated result,
rolling again if a particular result is inap¬
propriate, and altering circumstances
freely to fit your own campaign.

80 DECEMBER 1990

Treasure Hook Table

1: A rogue stone (see "Rogue Stones and
Gemjumping/' in issue #116 of DRAGON®
Magazine), in the form of a 5,000-gp ruby
of brilliant cut and chatoyance. It radiates
a faint dweomer. Any use of magic upon it
or by anyone carrying it will draw the
attention—and, subsequently, the presence
—of the mage Kordeerlar "Krakenhand,"
who will seek to slay or disable everyone
in the vicinity, take all magical or other
items of value they possess, and teleport
away.

Kordeerlar's statistics are: Int genius; AL
CE; AC 4; MV 12; M16; 41 hp; THACO 15;
#AT 1; Dmg by weapon or spell; S 7, D 17,
C 11,118, W 12, Ch 14; ML 14; ring of
protection +3, bag of holding, potion of
extra healing in a steel vial at his belt, two
nonmagical daggers. Elis spells include
magic missile x3, fireball, lightning bolt,
wall of fire, and feeblemind (among oth¬
ers). He will be protected by Serten's spell
immunity and will appear right beside the
gem, attacking instantly. He will not be
carrying his spell books.

2: A rare, highly prized material compo¬
nent. One example: a beholder's central
eye, preserved in a solution of Keoghtom's
ointment and "everwater" (embalming
fluid) so that it retains its anti-magic gaze
property for an indefinite time. This com¬
ponent should be somewhat difficult to
sell for its proper value, and it may be
eagerly sought by many powerful NPCs
(including, perhaps, its "rightful" owner),
but it should be too valuable or potentially
useful for the PCs to simply discard.

3: Regalia recently stolen from and
sought by a ruler—the jewelled scepter of
a local lord, for example (complete with
hollow compartment containing a map,
cryptic message, or parchment bearing a
symbol trap to harm thieves or other
unauthorized handlers of the thing), or the
Wyvern Crown of Cormyr, won by the
present royal family an age ago when they
defeated the Witch-Lords of the
Wyvernwater, to consolidate their hold on
the fledgling Forest-Kingdom. The Wyvern
Crown is said to be fashioned of some
rare, unknown star-metal and adorned
with active ioun stones. Many conflicting
rumors speak of its strange powers.
Though not an active crown of state like
the High Crown of Cormyr, the Wyvern
Crown is one of the most valued pieces in
the Royal Stiongcrypts. King Azoun has
sent messengers to all Purple Dragon
outposts and to neighboring rulers; any
local lord would do the same. Rewards are
offered for the return of the item; the
reward its wrongful possessors will earn is
likely to be swift death.

4: A portable hole of palm size. Its extra-
dimensional space is 4" in diameter and 1'
deep, and it holds a complete set of
thieves' picks and tools, a silver-bladed
dagger, and a 9" -long magical iron baton.
The baton counts as a magical weapon (no
pluses, deals damage as a club) that, upon

command, extends in one round into a 36'-
long pole ladder, with a hook at the top
and crossbrace footholds every 6" along
its length. Retraction requires a reverse
command and another round. There is
also a scrap of parchment in the hole that
contains the message: "... Six paces sun¬
ward from the crypt sundial stands a
stone, amid tall grass and much ruin. At its
base are four tiles. Beneath the tile
marked with the fish symbol is a key,
carved of rock-crystal. It will unlock the
spell book hidden by Orthabbas in ... "

The location of the key and the spell book
(as well as the nature of its contents) are
up to the DM. The hole has been recently
stolen and is sought by local authorities,
their agents, and patrols.

5: A tiny figurine of an angry-looking
woman in a dark blue gown. She wears no
armor but has a girdle of armor class 2
beneath her gown; her bare arms are
raised as if in supplication or warding off
a threat. The figurine is a real mage,
trapped long ago by an enemy who
tricked her into imbibing a potion of dimi¬
nution; he then placed her in temporal
stasis. If freed, she will be enraged and
will attempt to find and destroy her foe—
the Arch-Mage Anthilar, dead now for
over 300 years. She will also be confused
at the changes in the Realms that have
occurred since her entrapment and will do
anything to get spell books. The figurine is
Nanzil Starspeladine, of Untisczer, a city
now lost (destroyed by Calimshan in a
long-ago war) that stood east of Tashluta.

Nanzil's statistics are: Int genius; AL CN;
AC - 1; MV 12; Mil; 32 hp; THACO 17;
#AT 1; Dmg by weapon or spell; S 11, D
17, C 16, I 17, W 12, Ch 16; ML 13. Nanzil
was trapped at a ball, and her only other
magical item is a dagger +1 strapped to
her thigh beneath her gown. She lacks
spell books but does have material compo¬
nents hidden in various pockets in her
ornate eveningwear. She carries the fol¬
lowing memorized spells: charm person,
comprehend languages, dancing lights,
spider climb, darkness 15' radius, ESP,
invisibility, levitate, dispel magic, fireball,
hold person, lightning bolt, dimension
door, polymorph other polymorph self
cone of cold, feeblemind, and telekinesis.
Nanzil is fiery-tempered, clever, and very
alluring (and knows it). She is also fearless
and manipulative, and she thinks nothing
of plunging into combat with a dagger,
darts, or staves.

6: A silver ring, fashioned with two
horns, and between them the inscription:
"Thelm Horn." Sages will identify this ring
(which bears a dweomer but has no appar¬
ent powers) as one of "The Lost Rings of
Thelm Horn" (Thelm Horn being a famous
human mage of long ago). It is not; instead,
it is a device placed on Faerun by an ultro-
daemon also named Thelm Horn; each
time the ring's inscription is read aloud,
there is a 5% chance (not cumulative) that
the daemon will hear and investigate.

7: A map of the known sewers of Water-
deep, the City of Splendors. The map may
be accurate or not, as the DM wishes (and
may be devised freely or taken from the
sewer map given in the AD&D accessory
FR1 Waterdeep and the North). The map
should show a secret entry to Piergeiron's
Palace and a "Treasure Cache" chamber
watched over by a "Guild Guardian" (DM's
choice of monster and treasure).

8: A black opal gem, fist-size and radiat¬
ing a faint dweomer. It is worth 5,000 gp
on the open market and more to a gemcut-
ter or other being (such as a dwarf skilled
in gem-mining) able to examine it mi¬
nutely; he will see a tiny, ever-pulsing
sparkle in its depths. The gem is in reality
a long sword +1, +3 vs. shapeshifters
and all creatures employing powers of
mutability (e.g., +3 against mages using
polymorph spells, dopplegangers, or
druids while shifting to or from beast-
form). The item shifts form back and forth
uncontrollably; it is a sword whenever any
magical item or artifact is within 60' of it,
but it is a gem otherwise (scrolls and po¬
tions do not "activate" it). The gem/sword
transformation could easily damage a
carrying-pouch or purse, or even injure a
creature impaled by the forming sword. If
carried by hand or kept close by pocket or
pouch, it "attacks" as a 4-HD monster for
1-4 hp damage when it changes.

9: A plain ivory coffer (itself worth 1 gp)
that radiates a dweomer. It is latched, but
has no lock and is not trapped. When
opened, it releases a swirling cloud of
winking motes of light, the source of the
dweomer. The cloud rises up around the
head of any one character of the DM's
choice and coalesces into a ring of 3-12
ioun stones (DM's choice of types and
sizes). They circle the head of the charac¬
ter, no doubt attracting unwanted NPC
attention—but they do not exist. Dispel
magic will end the illusion, but the stones
always dance away to avoid a touch and
cannot be "destroyed" by physical attacks
or touch attempts that seem to succeed.
The illusory ioun stones radiate a
dweomer but do not, of course, have any
of the protections or beneficial powers of
real ioun stones.

10: A hand-size brass jewel box, without
a lock. When opened, it emits a small
glowing globe that springs wildly up into
the air. The globe evades any attacks or
capturing attempts, bounces to the
ground, and rolls 40' in a random direc¬
tion. As it rolls (AC -8), a magic mouth
emanates from it and says, in a peevish
male human voice: "So I said to him, 'Why,
yes, of course black sigils are dangerous,
because they do this!'" At that point, the
globe explodes, doing 4-16 hp damage to
all within 30' (no save). It is up to the DM
to determine what powers "black sigils"
have and who knows the secrets of creat¬
ing them. They are evil delayed-action
symbols triggered by conditions similar to
those for a magic mouth spell.

DRAGON 81

11: A key of polished electrum, 1' in
length and quite heavy. It radiates a faint
dweomer and displays the inscription
"Alsimbra." If this command word is said
aloud, the key shrinks. Sixteen such
shrinkages cause the key to shrink to
nothingness, to be lost forever. If the key
is touched to any one chain, knot, lock,
winch, bolt, or bar when the command
word is spoken, its magical unlocking
power shatters, dissolves, or parts the
restraining mechanisms. The key's power
even works upon command without direct
contact with the lock or restraint if it is
held, carried, or touched by any number
of beings who are under that physical
restraint. This key of free passage cannot
be recharged, its shrinkage cannot be
reversed or halted, and its power cannot
be nullified by physical or magical means.

12: An old, worn, stone box, one hand
wide and thick by 10 hands long. It has
rusting iron clasps all around it and opens
to reveal-nothing. Physical examination
of its interior reveals an invisible mace,
fashioned of one piece of metal. Whenever
it is grasped, a male-voiced magic mouth
on the mace (called a mace of doom) roars,
"Destroy them! Destroy them!" every three
rounds. The mace remains invisible at all
times, although substances smeared on it
or scarves tied to it remain visible and can
be used to readily locate the weapon. The
mace is dedicated to destroying dragons;
upon contact with any dragon, it explodes
and vanishes forever. The magical blast of
the mace of doom does 4-24 hp damage to
the wielder and all other beings within
20', unless they save vs. spells for half
damage. A dragon so struck by this mace
takes 8-48 hp damage (no save).

13: An electrum sword scabbard, empty
and unadorned. It is finely made, hand¬
some, and radiates a dweomer. It is, in
reality, a doppleganger who has employed
a potion of diminution, who will attack
when the majority of nearby beings are
asleep, wounded, or at ease and not alert.
The doppleganger's potion is effective for
thrice the normal duration. A sword in¬
serted in the scabbard will not harm the
doppleganger. The monster has a second
extrapowerful potion of diminution that it
will use to take the shape of a plain brass
ring (which will also radiate a dweomer) if
it escapes notice by others while attacking
its first victim.

14: A glass globe containing a swirling,
milky-white gas. It radiates no dweomer. If
the globe is shattered, it releases the gas in
a cloud that expands rapidly into a cloud
of pale white haze, before dissipating into
harmlessness after four rounds. In the
first round, the cloud expands to a 10'
radius; in the second round, the cloud is
20' in radius; in the third and fourth
rounds, the cloud has a 30' radius. Any
beings who breathe the gas or whose skin
comes into contact with it will be over¬
come by a frenzied urge to slay. Spell-
casting and rational thought are
impossible, and all affected beings launch

physical attacks against the nearest other
creatures. All beings are allowed a saving
throw vs. spells to avoid this effect. If they
succumb, they make twice their normal
attacks each round, caught in a reckless
frenzy with no thought for their own
safety or waiting for good opportunities
for assault. Gas effects on beings last only
for the roimd(s) in which they are in con¬
tact with it. Under the influence of this
rare horrible vapor, friends and even
mates attack each other without hesita¬
tion. All attacks are at -1 to hit but are
+1 to damage due to their savagery.

15: An eye of gold, actually an eye of
vision. This palm-size object is inset with
an obsidian and pearl "eyeball" and is
worth 1,500 gp. If the inlay is removed or
the eye melted or hammered into another
shape, it explodes (3-12 hp damage within
20' radius; save vs. wands for half damage;
anyone in contact with the eye at the time
suffers 4-32 damage, no save). On the back
of every eye of vision is a single word (on
this one, the word is "halass"). If this word
is uttered aloud by a being touching the
eye, the speaker is empowered to see the
whereabouts of any one particular crea¬
ture or physical object that he has seen
before. For example, a speaker could see
"the gem I saw atop the crown King Orvan
wore last Highfeast," but could not see "the
largest gem King Orvan owns." Such direc¬
tions need not be spoken aloud but must
be concentrated upon (precluding reading,
spell-casting, or other mental activities and
requiring full attention). The eye then
vaporizes, but its activator receives a
mental vision (lasting 2-5 rounds) of the
desired being or object and its present
whereabouts, governed by light available
at the locale. No sense of the direction or
distance separating the target from the
activator is imparted, nor is any sound
transmitted. No spells can be cast through
the vision; it is not a mental link or portal.
Every eye of vision is a one-shot device;
such devices are very rare, and the secrets
of making them are thought to be lost.

16: A magical arrow. This finely made
arrow radiates a dweomer and can be
identified as an arrow of direction. It is
actually an arrow of monster location,
always pointing unerringly at the nearest
dangerous nonhuman or demihuman
creature. The creature may be any dis¬
tance away on the same plane. The arrow
will do this regardless of the commands it
is given.

17: A famous magical item or artifact,
sought by many mages of power. This
might be a book of infinite spells, a piece
of the rod of seven parts, or any item
appropriate to the DM's own campaign.

18: An ivory slate adorned with ham¬
mered gold comers (12 gp value). A spell
placed on the slate long ago causes these
words to appear silently on the slate when
it is touched: "So you have come at last.
Know, before the Dark Dragons devour
the world, that there is a way to defeat
them: Find the Whip of Mastery. It lies in

the Tower of Crymon, on the island of
Ulm's Hand in the Nelanther. Waste no
time." The slate's words then fade forever.
The DM should alter the treasure and
location to suit his own campaign. Details
of the dragon-controlling and dragon¬
slaying powers of the "whip of mastery"
are likewise left to the DM.

19: A gold piece that radiates a faint
dweomer, found among several hundred
or so other nonmagical gold pieces. When
first touched, it causes the ghostly white
illusion of a harp to appear in midair,
approximately 2" behind and a little above
the head of the being who touches the
coin. The illusory harp plays faint, eerie,
intricate music constantly. Touching or
using magic on the harp will not affect it,
and it can pass through magical barriers,
walls, solid rock, and so on. The harp
vanishes when the gold piece is touched
again by a living being—whereupon an¬
other harp illusion will appear, to trail the
second being who touched the coin. A
harp illusion disappears if the person
currently causing it dies, or if dispel magic
is cast on the coin. The coin can still cause
illusions later when next touched, unless it
is melted down or a limited wish is used to
permanently end its magic.

20: A sealed clay sphere, baked hard
long ago, light in weight but about the size
of a human head. The sphere radiates a
faint dweomer. It has no powers except a
total inability to be affected by any magic,
including fireballs, wish spells, and the like
(a protection that it cannot extend to be¬
ings or other items). If shattered by a fall
or a deliberate blow, the sphere releases a
swarm of disembodied, animated eyeballs
of all types and sizes. These eyeballs float
about, clustering around and following
PCs until the spheres are destroyed (each
AC -2, MV 18,1 hp). A successful to-hit
roll when using a net, or when a creature
attacks barehanded with the stated inten¬
tion of catching an eyeball, results in the
capture of an undamaged eyeball. The
eyeballs can then be used as material
components, decorations, food, or in ruses
(e.g., to suggest the presence of someone
who does not in fact exist watching an
intruder).

82 DECEMBER 1990

TSR LTD PRESENTS

GamesFair ’91

The UK's No.l Games Convention

at Reading University

Book early to avoid disappointment. Booking in advance is essential.
There will be NO tickets for sale on the door.

The ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® Open
Championship to find the British AD&D™ Game
Champion of 1991. Held over Saturday and Sunday,
places in this event are limited and must be booked in
advance (Entry Fee £3.00).

The AD&D™ Game Team Competition -
a light-hearted single round team competition held on
Friday afternoon.

Non-stop twenty-four hours gaming with the
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® Game, ADVANCED
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® Game, MARVEL SUPER
HEROES™ Games, En Garde, Paranoia, Runequest, Call
of Cthulhu, Traveller, Stormbringer, Star Trek, Railway
Rivals, Warhammer Battles, WFRP, Illuminati, Car
Wars, MERP... and many, many more!

Seminars, quizes, trade stands, competitions throughout
the weekend, demonstration games, games-playtesting,
and the biggest game of En Garde ever!

Residential and Non-residential places -
Non-residential places entitle you to full use of the
convention facilities throughout the weekend including
inexpensive hot and cold food, the bar during extended
hours (adults only), several gaming areas and an array
of computer arcade games. Residential bookings entitle
you to all that plus two nights in a private bedroom and
a full breakfast on Saturday and Sunday.

MARVEL SUPER HEROES is a trademark of the Marvel Entertainment Group.

BOOKING FORM - please read carefully before booking

Sorry, parsons under 14 yaars of age cannot be admitted.

"If booking for more than one person, you must include ALL names -
Bookings accompanied by an incomplete list of names or the incorrect money will be returned unprocessed!
"Successful bookings will be confirmed by post. Full details of the events will be given in the
Games Fair '91 programme which will be mailed to ah delegates in February.

REFUNDS (minus a £2.00 administration charge) will ONLY be possible o
cancellations made BEFORE 28th February 1991.

Please make cheques/POs payable to TSR Limited and send to the
organisers at: TSR Limited

120 Church End
Cherry Hinton
Cambridge CB1 3LB

Telephone bookings for ACCESS/VISA cardholders on (0223) 212517

Please send me_ residential ticket(s) for Games Fair ’91 at £45.00 each

Please send me-non-residential tlcket(s) for Games Fair ’91 at £14.95

*** Ch (Tick boxes if rt

I wish to enter the AD&D™ Open Championship.

Entry fee of £3.00 enclosed

Please send details of entry into the AD&D™ Team Competition.

SAE enclosed.

I would like to DM a game in one of the AD&D™

Game Competitions (please give brief details of your
experience and age on a separate sheet of paper).

CHEQUE/PO to the value of__ enclosed

□ □□!

CONVENTION

CALENDAR

Convention Calendar Policies

This column is a service to our readers
worldwide. Anyone may place a free listing
for a game convention here, but the follow¬
ing guidelines must be observed.

In order to ensure that all convention
listings contain accurate and timely infor¬
mation, all material should be either typed
double-spaced or printed legibly on stand¬
ard manuscript paper. The contents of
each listing must be short and succinct.

The information given in the listing must
include the following, in this order:

1. Convention title and dates held;

2. Site and location;

3. Guests of honor (if applicable);

4. Special events offered;

5. Registration fees or attendance re¬
quirements; and,

6. Address(es) and telephone number(s)
where additional information and confirma¬
tion can be obtained.

Convention flyers, newsletters, and other
mass-mailed announcements will not be
considered for use in this column; we
prefer to see a cover letter with the an¬
nouncement as well. No call-in listings are
accepted. Unless stated otherwise, all
dollar values given for U.S. and Canadian
conventions are in U.S. currency.

WARNING: We are not responsible for
incorrect information sent to us by conven¬
tion staff members. Please check your
convention listing carefully! Our wide
circulation ensures that over a quarter of a
million readers worldwide see each issue.
Accurate information is your responsibility.

Copy deadlines are the last Monday of
each month, two months prior to the on-
sale date of an issue. Thus, the copy dead¬
line for the December issue is the last
Monday of October. Announcements for
North American and Pacific conventions
must be mailed to: Convention Calendar,
DRAGON® Magazine, P.O. Box 111, Lake
Geneva Wl 53147, U.S.A. Announcements
for Europe must be posted an additional
month before the deadline to: Convention
Calendar, DRAGON® Magazine, TSR
Limited, 120 Church End, Cherry Hinton,
Cambridge CB1 3LB, United Kingdom.

If a convention listing must be changed
because the convention has been can¬
celled, the dates have changed, or incor¬
rect information has been printed, please
contact us immediately. Most questions or
changes should be directed to the maga¬
zine editors at TSR, Inc., (414) 248-3625
(U.S.A.). Questions or changes concerning
European conventions should be directed
to TSR Limited, (0223) 212517 (U.K.).

❖ indicates an Australian convention.
:!• indicates a Canadian convention.

# indicates a European convention.

* indicates a product produced by a company other than TSR,
Inc. Most product names are trademarks owned by the
companies publishing those products. The use of the name of
any product without mention of its trademark status should not
be construed as a challenge to such status.

SYNDICON III, December 8

This convention will be held at the Interna¬
tional Inn in Orlando, Fla. The guest of honor is
Rembert N. Parker, RPGA™ Regional Director.
Events include one- and two-round RPGA™
AD&D® tournaments, with BATTLETECH*,
ILLUMINATI*, CAR WARS*, CALL OF
CTHULHU*, SHADOWRUN*, SPELLJAMMER™,
DIPLOMACY*, and DRAGONQUEST™ games.
Registration: $8; $6 for RPGA™ Network mem¬
bers; $10 at the door. All fees include four free
events. Write to: SYNDICON III, 11324 Porto
Court, Orlando FL 32821; or call: (407)857-1896
or (407) 788-3014.

NOVAG VI, December 15-16

Northern Virginia Adventure Gamers' annual
gaming convention will be held at the Leesburg
National Guard Armory in Leesburg, Va, Events
include fantasy role-playing and historical
games. Registration: $6 for the weekend. Write
to: NOVAG, 101 East Holly Ave., Sterling VA
22170; or call: (703) 450-6738.

GAMICON ALPHA, January 19, 1991

Sponsored by SFLIS/I-CON, this gaming con¬
vention will be held at the Iowa Memorial Union
at the University of Iowa in Iowa City. Events
will include AD&D™, CALL OF CTHULHU*,
BATTLETECH*, and STAR FLEET BATTLES*
games. Other activities include seminars and
panels by guests, including Roger E. Moore,
editor of DRAGON® Magazine, plus a silent
auction. Registration: $6 until Dec. 20; $8 there¬
after. This fee includes all games. Send an SASE
to: GAMICON, c/o SFLIS, Student Activities
Center, IMU, University of Iowa, Iowa City IA
52242. Call Nigel at: (319) 354-2236; or Ahmad
at: (319) 351-7963. No collect calls, please.

ROACH-CON '91, January 19

The first kind-of-annual convention will be
held at La Roche College and is sponsored by
Project Achievement. Events include AD&D®,
TOP SECRET/S.I.™, and BATTLETECH* games.
Other activities include movies, vendors, and a
miniatures-painting contest with an entry fee of
$2 per figure. Registration: $5 preregistered; or
$7.50 at the door. Write to: ROACH-CON '91, La
Roche College, Box 22, Allison Park PA 15101; or
call Bob at: (412) 793-6028 or (412) 341-6450.

JANCON '91, January 19-20

This two-day gaming convention will be held
at the Quality Inn Conference Center in New
Haven, Conn. Events include AD&D®, BATTLE-
TECH*, and DIPLOMACY* games, with minia¬
tures painting, movies, and a dealers' room.
Other activities include a banquet on the 20th
and a benefit game with all proceeds going to
Alzheimer's research. Send an SASE to: JANCON
'91, P.O. Box 822, Shelton CT 06484.

PANDEMONIUM VIII, January 19-20 *

This convention will be held at the Ryerson
Hub Cafeteria, Jorgenson Hall, Ryerson Poly-
technical Institute, in Toronto, Ontario. High¬
lights include two game auctions, over 50
games, a miniatures contest, and many local
dealers. Prizes will be awarded to tournament
winners. Registration: $10 (Canadian)/day. Write
to: PANDEMONIUM VIII, c/o 17B Wales Ave.,
Toronto, Ontario, CANADA M5T 1J2; or call:

(416) 597-1934.

ADVENTURERS' INN II, January 26-27

This gaming convention will be held at the
Stockton Growers' Hall in Stockton, Calif. A
medieval/fantasy atmosphere will highlight this
gathering of gamers. Events include official and
open gaming, SCA demos, a 36-hour campaign, a
costume contest, and a dealers' area. Registration:
$15/weekend until Jan. 1; $13/day or $20/
weekend at the door. A $3 discount goes to
anyone in medieval/fantasy costume. Write to:
ADVENTURERS' INN, P.O. Box 3669, Turlock CA
95381.

CANCON '91, January 26-28 ❖

Australia's biggest and best convention will be
held at the University of Canberra, ACT, Austra¬
lia. Our special guest will be Jean Rabe, the
RPGA™ Network coordinator. Events include
miniatures, board games, RPGs, including sev¬
eral RPGA™ Network events, and a costume
parade. Registration: $15 (Australian) before
Nov. 30; $20 thereafter. Most events cost $2.
Write to: CANCON, GPO Box 1016, Canberra
City, ACT, 2601, AUSTRALIA.

REALMS OF ROLE-PLAY II,

February 1-3 ®

This convention, organized by TRoA, will be
held at Sofiendalskolen, Aalborg, Denmark.

Events will include AD&D® 2nd Ed., CALL OF
CTHULHU*, D&D®, MERP*, ROLEMASTER*,
SHADOWRUN*, STAR WARS*, WARHAMMER
FANTASY BATTLE* and ROLEPLAY*, and board
games. Registration: DKK 50/weekend or Dm 30/
day. GMs are welcome! Write to: TRoA,
Hvidkildevej 20 A, 9220 Aalborg Oest, DENMARK.

CONNECT-A-CON, February 16-17

This SF/fantasy/gaming convention will be
held at the Sheraton Westgate in Toledo, Ohio.
Guests of honor include Jean Lorrah, Dennis
McKieman, and Rob Prior. Events include
gaming, a writers' workshop, a short-story
contest, a costume contest and masquerade ball,
a murder-mystery contest, a huge dealers'
room, a 24-hour movie room, an art show and
auction, and a gaming auction. Registration: $15/
weekend before Dec 31; $20/weekend there¬
after. Write to: CONNECT-A-CON, PO. Box 4674,
Toledo OH 43620.

ECONOMYCON IV, February 15-17

This convention will be held at the Smart
Plaza, Road Suites 17 and 18 in Mesa, Ariz.
Events include AD&D®, BATTLE FOR MOS¬
COW*, SQUAD LEADER*, and BATTLETECH*
games. Other activities include computer games,
Japanimation, open gaming, and a Miniatures
Fest featuring WWII microarmor, American
Civil War, British colonial and SF miniatures
gaming. There is no admission fee, and all
events are free. Send an SASE to: ECONOMY-
CON TV, c/o Roaming Panther Game Co., 2740 S.
Alma School Rd„ #16, Mesa AZ 85202.

GENGHIS CON XII, February 15-17

The Denver Gamers' Assoc, presents this

84 DECEMBER 1990

convention at the Sheraton of Lakewood. Events
include VICTORY IN THE PACIFIC*, CIVILIZA¬
TION*, KINGMAKER*, ASL*, and BATTLE-
TECH* games, with official RPGA™ Network
tournaments including PARANOIA*, D&D®, and
AD&D® games. A variety of miniatures events
will be featured. Other activities include several
auctions, art and figure-painting contests, semi¬
nars, and demos. Guests include Jean Rabe (the
RPGA™ Network coordinator), Darwin Bromley,
and Richard Berg. Also featured is the PUFFING
BILLY* tournament for railroad gamers. Regis¬
tration: $1/weekend preregistered. Write to:
Denver Gamers' Assoc., P.O. Box 440058, Aurora
CO 80044; or call: (303) 680-7824.

ORCCON 14, February 15-18

This convention will be held at the Los
Angeles Airport Hilton. All types of family,
board, role-playing, miniatures, and computer
games are featured. Get bargains at the flea
markets, auctions, and exhibitors' area. Also
featured are seminars, demos, and special
guests. Write to: STRATEGICON, P.O. Box 3849,
Torrance CA 90510-3849; or call: (213) 326-9440.

ECLECTICON 5, February 16-18

This SF/fantasy convention will be held at the
Sacramento Hilton Inn in Sacramento, Calif.
Guests of honor include Greg Bear, Rick Stern-
bach, and Rhea Stone. The dead guest of honor
is Jules Verne. Registration: $25 until Jan. 15;
and $30 thereafter. Proceeds will benefit the
Sacramento Public Library and the Children's
Burn Unit of the University of California at
Davis Medical Center, among other charities.
There will also be a blood drive at the conven¬
tion on Feb. 17th. Write to: Publicity Committee,
ECLECTICON 5, #176 P.O. Box 19040, Sacra¬
mento CA 95814; or call: (916) 421-8365 and
leave a message.

TOTAL CONFUSION V, February 22-24

This convention will be held at the Sheraton
Worcester Hotel and Conference Center in Wor¬
cester, Mass. Events include AD&D®, GURPS*,
BATTLETECH*, CALL OF CTHULHU*, DIPLO¬
MACY*, ASSAULT*, CAR WARS*, DC HEROES*,
and AXIS & ALLIES* games. Over 120 games are
scheduled. Other activities include a costume
competition and a miniatures-painting contest.
Registration: $5/day or $20/weekend preregis¬
tered; or $10/ day at the door. Write to: TOTAL
CONFUSION, P.O. Box 1463, Worcester MA
01607; or call: (505) 987-1530.

CHIMERACON VII, March 1-3

This seventh annual SF/fantasy convention will
be held at the Union of the University of North
Carolina in Chapel Hill, N.C. Guests of honor
include Fred Chappell, Alan Wold, and Gavin and
Yvonne Frost. Write to: Shannon Turlington, c/o
CHIMERACON, 306 Avery UNC-CH, Chapel Hill,
NC 27514 ; or call: (919) 933-2912.

EGYPTIAN CAMPAIGN '91, March 1-3

This gaming convention will be held at the
Student Center of Southern Illinois University in
Carbondale, Ill. Events include RPGA™ AD&D®
tournaments, miniatures judging, and a game
auction. Registration: $8 preregistered or $5/
day. Friday, the 1st, is free to all. Send a
business-size SASE to: S.I.U. Strategic Games
Society, Office of Student Development, South¬
ern Illinois University, Carbondale IL 62901-
4425; or call: (618) 529-5317.

BASHCON '91, March 8-10

This sixth annual convention, sponsored by the
Benevolent Adventurers' Strategic Headquarters,
will be held at the Student Union Auditorium at
the University of Toledo's main campus in Toledo,
Ohio. Over 150 game events will be featured,
including RPGA™ tournaments, plus movies, a
miniatures contest, an exhibitors' area, two
auctions, and an honored speaker or two. Regis¬
tration: $3/weekend or $1 for Friday, $2/day for
Saturday and Sunday. There will be no preregis¬
tration. Games cost $.50 each. Send an SASE to:
UT-BASH, c/o Student Activities Office, University
of Toledo, Toledo OH 43606-9987.

OWLCON XII, March 8-10

Rice University's WARP and RSFAFA will hold
this convention at Rice University in Houston,
Texas. Tournaments will be held for RUNE-
QUEST*, PARANOIA*, CALL OF CTHULHU*,
CAR WARS*, TRAVELLER*, DIPLOMACY*,
ILLUMINATI*, CIVILIZATION*, BATTLETECH*,
STAR FLEET BATTLES*, ASL*, WORLD IN
FLAMES*, and AD&D® games. Prizes will be
awarded for some of these tournaments. Regis¬
tration: $10 preregistered; $12/weekend at the
door. Single-day prices vary. Write to: RSFAFA,
OWLCON, P.O. Box 1892, Houston TX 77251.

AGGIECON XXII, March 21-24

The largest and oldest annual SF/fantasy con¬
vention in the Southwest will be held on the
campus of Texas A&M University in College
Station, Tex. Guests include Fred Saberhagen,
Lynn Abbey, Keith Parkinson, Marv Wolf man,
and Steve Jackson, Activities include RPGA™
tournaments, a dealers' room, game shows, a hall
costume contest and masquerade ball, SF films,
Japanimation and video rooms, and live-action
games. Registration: $13 before March 1; $16
thereafter. One-day passes are $10. Write to:
AGGIECON XXII, MSC Cepheid Variable, Box J-l,
College Station TX 77844; or call: (409) 845-1515.

SIMCON XIII, March 22-24

This gaming convention will be held the
University of Rochester River campus in Roches¬
ter, N.Y. Role-playing events, including an R.
Talsorian-sanctioned CYBERPUNK* tournament,
plus miniatures events, board games, and a
miniatures contest are scheduled. Registration:
$7 before March 4; $10 thereafter. College
students with an I.D. receive a $2 discount.

Write to: SIMCON, CPU Box 277146, River
Station, Rochester NY 14627.

SCRYCON '91, March 23

Sponsored by the Seekers of the Crystal
Monolith, this ninth annual convention will be
held at the Oakwood School in Poughkeepsie,
N.Y. Events include AD&D® and alternate
games, a painted-miniatures contest, and a used-
game auction. Registration: $6 preregistered
and $8 at the door. Send an SASE to: SCRYCON
'91, P.O. Box 896, Pleasant Valley NY 12569.

Space is limited; preregistration is advised.

How effective was your convention listing?
If you are a convention organizer, please
write to the editors and let us know, if our
“Convention Calendar” served your needs.
Your comments are always welcome.

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DRAGON 85

SR PREVIEWS

NEW PRODUCTS FOR
DECEMBER

FRA3 Blood Charge
AD&D® FORGOTTEN REALMS™
adventure
by Troy Denning

This is the thrilling conclusion to the trilogy of
Horde modules! The final conflict threatens the
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Nehwon

AD&D® 2nd Edition module
by Blake Mobley

TSR presents another in the LANKHMAR™
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been chosen to take part in a special romp: a
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Product No.: 9305

MLA3 Night Life

MARVEL SUPER HEROES™ module
by Anthony Herring

The third module in the Gang Wars trilogy, this
adventure culminates in the knock-down, drag-
out battles between the gangs of New York and
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anything; the gangs are out for blood!
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Product No.: 6897

Galen Beknighted
DRAGONLANCE® Heroes II Trilogy,
Volume Three
by Michael Williams

Once a Weasel, forever a Weasel. Galen
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brother, and his own courage.

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Product No.: 8336

Exile

FORGOTTEN REALMS™ Dark Elf
Trilogy, Volume Two
by R. A. Salvatore

This second book of the trilogy finds Drizzt
exiled from the drow city of Menzoberranzan.
He must now seek acceptance in a hostile soci¬
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evil kin. And all the while, he must keep looking
over his shoulder for those same brethren—
those hunting him!

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Product No.: 8482

The Alien Dark
TSR™ Books
by Diana G. Gallagher

One hundred million years in the future, an
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JANUARY

WGA4 Vecna Lives

AD&D® GREYHAWK® module
by David "Zeb" Cook

Vecna was the most powerful wizard of his
age, and he became the most powerful and evil
lich of any age. Legends say that he was de¬
stroyed centuries ago and will never return—
but the legends were wrong! As the world goes
mad under Vecna's coming, who will brave
almost certain death to fight him?

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feathered serpent.

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Crusade

Empires Trilogy, Book Three
by James Lowder

The barbarian horde has turned and set its
sights on the western Realms. Only King Azoun
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factions together and forge an army to chal¬
lenge the horsemen. But Azoun had not reck¬
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his beloved daughter!

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Unless otherwise noted:

® and ™ denote trademarks owned by TSR, Inc.

LANKHMAR is a trademark of Fritz Leiber and is used with
permission.

MARVEL SUPER HEROES™ is a trademark of the Marvel
Entertainment Group, Inc. All Marvel characters, names, an
the distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks of the
Marvel Entertainment Group, Inc. ©1990 Marvel
Entertainment Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

FROA1 Ninja Wars

AD&D® FORGOTTEN REALMS™ module
by Nigel D. Findley

The Oriental lands of Kara-Tur are rocked to
their foundations by a series of ninja wars that
affect noblemen and commoners alike. Few
have meddled in ninja affairs and lived to tell of
it. Don't miss this module that examines those
secretive assassins, the ninja!

Suggested Retail Price: $9.95/£6.50
Product No.: 9307

HWA2 Nightrage

D&D® HOLLOW WORLD™ module
by Allen Varney

This second HOLLOW WORLD™ module
further explores the myriad cultures and king
doms of this new campaign setting. Take your
PCs on an incredible journey across this new
world on a quest to discover Ancient Nithia and
find out what really happened to the great

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the settings (dr the
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Three books, three writers, one great trilogy

by Theresa Hickey

East finally meets west in the Empires
Trilogy in the FORGOTTEN REALMS™
campaign world, but it's a war-torn con¬
nection. These are the stories of an unex¬
plored kingdom, the wild expanse
between the western Realms and the
eastern Kara-Tur that the civilized folk of
the Realms have long ignored. Once popu¬
lated by small clans' of sour-breathed bar¬
barians known as Tuigan, this land has
become the stronghold of Yamun Khahan,
who has united the horse warriors and
has set out to conquer nothing less than
the world. You can bet these barbarians
won't be ignored for long.

Horselords

Horselords, the first book in the Empires
series, comes to us from within the camps
of the Tuigan barbarians, where savagery,
strength, and stench are the only ways of
life. After a savory meal of dried meat and
cheese curd stew, the barbarians journey
eastward to sate yet another hunger—that
of conquest. They ride out to breach the

when writing this book, author David
Cook had two alternate sources of inspira¬
tion: fear and Diet Coke. Fear that his
deadlines would arrive before any of his
ideas were recorded propelled Cook into
many nights of frenzied typing. Diet Coke
kept him bouncing through it all. "I'd
drink Diet Coke until I got jittery," Cook
says, "and then I'd write until about mid¬
night, sometimes one in the morning, until
I was exhausted. Usually I'd go a couple of
nights and then I wouldn't be able to keep
my eyes open, so I'd go to sleep. And the
next night. I'd try it again."

Writing did not come easily to Cook.
Although he tried to select certain back¬
ground noises, they weren't always the
most conducive to writing. "MTV was
occasionally on, but it was bad when there
was an interesting video or when odd
things flashed on the screen. Regular TV
was really bad, although old movies that I
wasn't real interested in watching were
okay." In addition to these distractions, as
soon as Cook started writing for the night.

he felt a persistent urge to get up and
pace. Finally he found a background
sound that actually helped him in his work
and kept him in his seat—music. It proved
most beneficial because it blocked out the
other distractions and established a posi¬
tive mood for writing.

Long before he ever started the writing
for Horselords, Cook spent many hours
researching the Mongol culture to give his
book a strong atmosphere, a powerful
setting, and true characters. His descrip¬
tions were gleaned from "a million differ¬
ent picture books" and from a museum
exhibition that conveniently came through
town displaying artifacts from Soviet
museums. He formed piles of picture
books next to his computer and would
page through these whenever he needed
descriptions of "weird Mongol things."

After the book was completed. Cook
traveled to China to observe firsthand the
country about which he had been writing.
"The whole last part of the book takes
place along the Dragonwall, and we went
to see its rough equivalent, the Great Wall
of China," He adds, "I didn't realize how

90 DECEMBER 1990

steep things were there, how rugged," and
admits that if he had traveled before writ¬
ing the book, some physical descriptions of
the landscape would be much different.

Cook offered one bit of advice for aspiring
writers. "Be diligent about sitting down and
getting to work. If you don't sit down and
write, you're not going to get anywhere. Try
and get in the habit of doing it on a regular
basis, every day, every other day."

Hard at work on other projects for TSR,
he attempts to follow this advice as well,
but realizes how difficult this discipline
really is. "Right now I try to get up at four
in the morning because nobody bothers
me then," he says. "The only problem is, I
keep sleeping too late."

Dragonwall

"In the seventh grade in my English
class, I started keeping a journal as an
assignment, and I just started having a lot
of fun with it. By the time I was in eighth
grade, I knew what I wanted to do," says
Troy Denning, author of Dragonwall, Book
Two in the Empires Trilogy. This desire to
write stayed with him throughout high
school; when he traveled to a small liberal-
arts college in Beloit, Wis., he immediately
went to declare his major.

"I had signed up to play football in col¬
lege," he says, "so as a freshman, I went in
to declare my major to the head of the
department, a little, wiry guy who took
one look at this football player and said
'Are you sure you want to be an English
major?'" But Denning had no doubts, and a
few years later he graduated with a dou¬
ble major in English composition and in
sociology, a combination appropriate for a
project such as Dragonwall, which in¬
volved writing about a foreign culture.

Dragonwall is written from the perspec¬
tive of the eastern nation of Shou Lung
and describes the threatened invasion of
Shou Lung by the barbarian horde. The
army of the Shou uses its one major
strength, general Batu Min Ho, a brilliant
strategist and a loyal fighter. But confront¬
ing the bloodthirsty warriors leads Batu to
confront his Tuigan heritage, a back¬
ground that soon shadows his achieve¬
ments. After battles tainted by politics and
spies, Batu leaves the Shou for a new life
within the ranks of the barbarians.

Although Denning has a strong interest
in Far Eastern cultures and has spent the
past two and a half years learning and
practicing kyuki-do, a form of martial arts
comprising tae-kwon-do, hapki-do, and
judo, writing this book required heavy
research. "I spent hundreds of dollars and
probably hundreds of hours on research,"
he says. "And it was an ongoing process.

As I wrote, it helped to keep reading about
the places."

Denning started his research with chil¬
dren's books to get an overview of the
culture, then moved on to more complex
materials. He also underwent mental prep¬
aration. "Each night before writing, I

would sit for a few minutes, close my
eyes, and think of the character or the
scene I was writing about. This would
relax and clear my mind."

Denning then would begin composing,
slowly at first, until he reached his usual
pace of approximately three pages per
hour. He carefully followed outlines con¬
structed in the planning stages of the
book, but not everything could be plotted
so closely. "I think the relationships of the
characters came out more as the writing
went on. And because of this, an awful lot
of my character work was done in the
second draft."

Denning grew up in a small mining town
in the mountains of Colorado; the entire
county was home to fewer than 5,000
people. "I went to a very unusual high
school," he says. "We had this immense
mine in the county that created a very
large tax base. So we had a very nice and
expensive high school populated by people
who had very little interest in education."
But the talented teachers at his school
inspired Denning and made learning en¬
joyable for him.

Dragonwall is dedicated to one of these
teachers, Mr. Dallas, as well as to other
educators. "Mike Dallas was more of a gem
than you ever had the right to expect in a
little backward town like mine," Denning
explains. "He not only taught how to write
and how to read, but he made me curious
and willing to try things that I wouldn't have
tried before. He was a teacher who made
me look beyond the immediate possibilities
and gave me confidence."

This confidence did not come easily,
however. "The first hundred stories I
wrote all ended up in the wastebasket,
and I had started many novels. If someone
were to ask me what's the one thing he
should do to be a writer, I would tell him
not to be too critical. You have to learn to
suspend your critical functions while
you're writing."

Crusade

Crusade begins about three months after
the end of Dragonwall. The setting is the
civilized west, in the city of Suzail in the
country of Cormyr—which, we learn, is the
next target of those pugnacious barbarians.
The Tuigan challenge is met by one ruler.
King Azoun, who must unify the western
factions to create a force powerful enough
to reckon with the horse warriors.

The story unravels from the western
viewpoint, and author James Lowder used
medieval England as a model for King
Azoun's land. "From the minute we de¬
fined this book, it was like a magnet to
me," says Lewder, an English and history
major who is fascinated by the medieval
period.

But more intriguing than the setting, to
Lewder, was the main character. "When
we picked King Azoun as the major char¬
acter, I really fell in love with him," says
Lewder. "I couldn't stop thinking about

him, about 'What would this character
do?' He is King Arthur if King Arthur had
survived the final battle, a character who
is so incredibly charismatic and has these
noble ideas, and who finally has to go in
and put his government together. And
you've got somebody who wants to rule by
law and by good in a situation where he
can't, because when you make sweeping
laws, somebody is affected negatively by
them and then you're not ruling by law
and by good anymore."

Although Lowder researched historical
accounts for his novel, he emphasizes that
none of the books in the Empires Trilogy is
of the historical fiction genre. "There is
more historical authenticity to these sto¬
ries than what's been done in the Realms
before, but that's not to say that these are
parallels to any specific history. And they
shouldn't be taken that way." What they
tried to do, according to Lowder, was to
create a Realms that was historic. He
considers this trilogy a success in that
respect.

"I think we achieved what we set out to
do," he says. "We let the readers know
what it was like to live in these three parts
of the Realms. We also created a story, a
type of epic, that was focused on the peo¬
ple who made the action. So many fantasy
stories are about adventurers pulled along
by circumstance. But the three main char¬
acters in this series are the people who
rim their countries, who make history
every day."

Although he started writing when in
college and currently pens video, film, and
book reviews, Lowder became most inter¬
ested in writing through working with
novels at TSR. "I think if a lot more people
could see how books get put together,
they'd have a more confident approach to
publishing a book. But it's a lot of work."
Lowder began working on Crusade by
allotting a certain amount of time for
writing each night. This system, however,
didn't last for long. "As my deadlines got
closer, I had a certain amount that I
needed to write."

Fortunately for Lowder, writer's block
didn't strike too frequently. When it did,
he made himself relax by turning on a
movie. "I'd watch Excalibur or A Man For
All Seasons to try and get back in the feel
for the world that I was trying to create."
And when that failed, he would raid the
refrigerator for one of the many Dr. Pep¬
pers inside, charge himself up, then get
back to work. Crusade will go on sale in
December.

TSR's 1991 lineup of books is its best
ever. Watch for our new series on the
Harpers in the FORGOTTEN REALMS
world. Also, travel back into the
DRAGONLANCE® saga's past to discover
the stories behind the Companions' first
meetings—or, should we say, their first
confrontations. All this and more in the
next "Novel Ideas." Q

DRAGON 91

Princess Ark

Continued from page 45

Minaean identity secret, for many people
would still demand vengeance for the
rampages of Yodar's Sea Wolves.

Personality: The Ways of Razud
changed Talasar, making him a charitable,
forgiving, and compassionate person. His
tact and diplomacy have served him well
aboard the Princess. Quiet and keenly
observant, Talasar is a great judge of char¬
acter who proven many times to be an
invaluable help in Haldemar's endeavors.

Disposition: Goodwill toward all
aboard. New feelings about Lady
Abovombe are deeply disturbing to this
now-pious man, however.

Appearance: Although in his mid¬
fifties, Talasar is a tall, powerful man. He
keeps his head shaved and bare, according
to the precepts of his order. Talasar has a
dark complexion, with slightly slanted
green eyes. His thin, long mustache com¬
mon to that of Ochalean nobles in Beitung
has long since turned white.

Equipment Carried: Potion of black
dragon control (including lesser night
dragon, two doses left), earring of seaman¬
ship, balm of ethereality, scroll of com¬
munication (whose other half is at the
temple of Razud in Starpoint), ring of
holiness, amulet vs. crystal balls and ESP
hammer +3 of extinguishing.

Spells Commonly Memorized:

Level 1 — Detect evil, light (*2), purify
food & water (x2), remove fear, resist
cold

Level 2— Bless, hold person ( x 2), know
alignment, resist fire, silence 15' radius,
speak with animals

Level 3— Cure blindness, cure disease,
remove curse, striking (*3)

Level 4— Create water, dispel magic (*2),
neutralize poison

Level 5— Commune, create food, cure
critical wounds, dispel evil
Level 6 — Animate object, cureall, find the
path

Level 7— Ship flight (10% chance) or raise
dead fully

D&D Game Statistics: S 15, I 13, W
17, D 10, Co 14, Ch 16; 17th.level cleric;

AC 9; hp 49; MV 120'(40'); #AT 1 (by
weapon type or spell); Dmg by weapon
type or spell; Save C17; ML 11, AL L. Lan¬
guages: Common Alphatian and Minaean.
Skills: Intimidation (St), Swimming (St),
Helmsman/Captain (In), Guidance/
Counseling (Wi), Theology (Wi), Persuasion
(Wi), Storytelling (Ch).

Letters

I would like to know if you were going
to do a Monstrous Compendium for the
D&D game realms? I would like to have all

these creatures in one place for easy refer¬
ence.

And why is there never more informa¬
tion on the ability scores for humanoids
than what is printed in DRAGON® issue
#141? I would like to be able to let my
players play a hobgoblin or a gnoll but I
don't have the statistics on either of them.

GAZ10 The Ores of Thar is what you
need for humanoid ability scores. As for
monsters, we are making plans for a major
supplement in 1991 that should include
most of the D&D monsters published to
date in our various boxed sets. Unfortu¬
nately, the descriptions may remain just as
short as they have been so far because of
a lack of space in that product.

I'm all in favor of the Princess Ark diving
back as soon as possible into the new
HOLLOW WORLD setting. This is the most
fascinating game world I've ever seen, and
I want to know more!

Where are Amazons in the D&D game
world? Because they are a basic element in
fantasy, they must be somewhere in the
game world. Could the Princess drop in on
them?

Thanks for your vote. Amazons would
be likely to be in the region originally
called the Matriarchy of Pelatan, on the
Southern continent. Perhaps that old
Nithian map had some truth to it! £2

0 =

DOILS

GAMES

Role-Playing-Games, Family
Games, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Cosims,
Wargames, Magazines &
Miniatures

-- DOILS -

GAMES

Frankenallee 189
Ecke Miinstererstrafie
D-6000 Frankfurt/Main
Tel.: (069) 730 60 77

Avalon Hill ★ Chaosium ★ Columbi,

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Science Fiction ★ FASA ★ Fata
Morgana ★ Gibson AGrenadie^

Jeux Aetuel ★ Jeux Descartes

★ Mayfair ★ Metal Magic
Miniaturen & Magazine ★ V

★ Welt der Spiele ★ Ral^

★ Ravensburger ★ Scty
-orce ★ TSR ★ Victor

★ Welt der Spiele + A
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Rollenspiele ★ F ?j
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HOBBY STORE

Mail Order • Free Catalogue

Tel. (069) 3808088

92 DECEMBER 1990

WINTER FANTASY, 1991

January 4th-6th

All gaming is free - exempt for the benefit ton moment, which requires a SfiJOfl donation. Games
are available on site on h first COmC, first served basis, Network members cun pre-register for
_ ro lc-pluyt loti rn-umCntfl. _ __

COSTS: At the door -- $15; Pre-registration - $12; Pre-registration for
Network Members - $10; Forjudges running three or more sessions -- $7

Name:_

Address: _

Pre-registration closes December 15. 1990

1 have indicated below the

_ _ _ four tournaments I want

__ to be pre-re gistered for*

The Rumada Trm Airport. Milwaukee, WI

In addition* the convention features:

Featuring Network Sanctioned Events:

AD&Dte Game Grand Masters Torg

AD&D Game Masters Star Wars

AD&D Game Feature Paranoia

AD&D Game Benefit ChiU

MAUVE L SUPER HEROES Timemaster

Board Games
Miniatures Events
Axis & Allies Tournament
DAWN PATROL® Tournament
Role Playing Sessions
Dealers' Area
Open Gaming

The Hamad a Inn is offering
special rates for convention
goers. To make a reservation,
call toll free at
1-800-27245232
or call 414-764-5300
Be sure to mention
Winter Fantasy

llomo Phono:
Work Phone:.

I volunteer to judge. I know
these game systems:

_ „___ _ __ _„_ _ __ !

Send registration to Winter Fantasy, P-O- Hnx 51,1, Lake Geneva, IV f., 53147
Enclose 0 check or money order for the correct amount,

_Yes! 1 would like to go to the

Network Sunday brunch. I have
included $10.00 to cover the cost of
this delicious, warm repast

Rats! I can never open these
child-proof caps"

'Whoopie cushion, joy buzzes
Squid flower. . . +1

L Oh, stop yOor whining! I know goyg who pay $2PD
a month to get work-outs like this."

V\t> iT \m <ics^ wev |, ^W

PlE? f" ft. I .hi Li M/Wif wRt*J ijMV^ WG

Wtv! -Sh£ J s LJEAStitiq
HgWKEQF T^RJfrri

■i'lh.J jJilO HE f [■JEJffirit; ThJTT '

lAzl i

f jyfj

RACJONMIR'CH

-v_

"Onion ring to rule them all.

Onion ring to find them.
Onion ring to bring them all,
and in the darkness bind (hom,

You mean all l have to do is hold the lamp like
Ihis find look tn the closer?^

ohou! mm wmR Tfatf'Wtz m i&

QfmX,lW£&TV£M! *

DRAGON 95

t .t t L.R5.TiRsr gu"**H
■cg&T Ot &1 ^° k irHQ^. p ' (10 i ';
Wn of wttJt^^pjctf.oj ■■

iw\ Qti(n.(4e^DE5 , 5

V-^Ooow* 36 * ZZSBgffl

THE.fie.iHE'i' fiRt 1 .

PM»| i-

Aeaft'THenoi,

I t irtiHi

96 DECEMBER 1990

DRAGON 97

E SHOULD L€ftDTHefT

fR pn HER’ ^

98 DECEMBER 1 990

Boxed Nightmares is the long awaited adventure/source book for Pal¬
ladium’s Beyond the Supernatural™ RPG.

The game package contains a 56 page adventure and source book along
with a peculiar tabloid newspaper (fictional). The newspaper is one of those
sensational, check- out counter rags that boasts headlines like, “Woman marries
Big Foot” or “Elvis’ clone living in Tampa!” However, this tabloid is tied to
the adventure book in several different ways.

First, it contains clues and information for the actual adventures inside the
supplement. Second, the publishers of the paper often hire psychics and para¬
psychologists to investigate strange phenomena, so your characters could be
working for this rag.

The adventures are designed to give players and GM’s a better idea of the
variety and scope of adventures one can explore in the world of modem horror.
Some adventures are short, others long. Some are monster stomping action,
while others require investigation, cunning, and the uncovering of clues.

Highlights include:

• Rules and tips for creating secret organizations.

• Adventures in South America, Australia, as well as the USA.

• Villains include crazed arcanists, gremlins, Tasmanian Devils of the.
supernatural variety, a possessing entity that has absorbed the
memories of a serial killer and much, much more.

• An outrageous, yet insightful, 16 page tabloid filled with clues and
adventure ideas.

• Front and back cover paintings by Denis Beauvais.

• Interior art by Kevin Long.

• Written by Kevin Siembieda.

• $11.95, please add $1.50 for postage and handling.

Beyond the Supernatural

Beyond the Supernatural™ is an excursion into the realm of contemporary
horror.

The time: Today.

The place: Anywhere! America, England, or your home town.

The Horror: Superhuman ... inhuman ... unnatural creatures of evil known
to ancient man as ghosts, goblins, and demons. Monsters that are very real
and very much present in an unsuspecting world of science and technology.

The prey: Human life.

The characters: Are the scientific rebels, explorers of magic, psychics, or
victims who are aware of the supernatural forces around them. Often they find
themselves in a life and death struggle against demonic forces and madmen
who use their mystic knowledge for evil. Psychic Character Classes include
the psychic sensitive, physical psychic, healer, psi-mechanic, and nega-psy-
chic, along with the arcanist (practitioner of magic) and parapsychologist.

Magic: Is presented in a believable and effective way that works in a modem
world. Includes spells and ritual magic, ley lines and places of magic, and
dozens of supernatural creatures.

Compatible with Rifts 1 : The player characters, monsters, and magic are
easily adaptable to Palladium Books’ exciting, new game of future horror and
adventure. Rifts . Beyond the Supernatural ™ is also compatible with Heroes
Unlimited™, Revised Ninjas & Superspies™ and, to a lesser degree, Teenage
Mutant Ninja Turtles® & Other Strangeness.

Artwork: Cover by Richard Corben, interior art by Steven Bissette and
Kevin Long.

256 pages, $19.95 plus $2.00 for postage and handling.

Rifts™

Nearly 8000 copies sold in the first week!

Rifts™ is a mega-hit judging by fan reaction at the game convention where
it debut and from the fast and furious distributor sales.

The one comment we keep hearing time and time again is, “I’ve been
waiting for a game like this for years.” Well, the wait is over.

Rifts is Palladium Books®’ new science fiction/fantasy/megaversal role-
playing game of super science, high technology and mega-magic. Not just
blasters and spell casting, but super-technology like rail guns, particle beams,
power armor, giant warrior robots, bionics, and magic that, is its equal in
power and sophistication. A true blend of high powered (mega-damage) magic
and technology. $24.95 plus $2.00 for postage.

If you haven’t taken a look at this RPG yet. Do it today!

DRAGON 99

Share some Fuiituny
with your Friends

415.474.7464

VolliTTvC 51 44

AMERS GUIDE

WESTERN BUNli
nith:

-HKW QVAdflT-

-i'i.ntiap£jih im£-

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3i3 H. Hum Femudi) ELkd
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CHIMERA

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BALTIMORE AREA
GAMERS

IS »9UR GAMING SOURCE

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A"N Fua

SCENARIO PUBLICATIONS IS back?

Jy.51 in bme lor Xmas. A pafia named
Short story. ^mere 'gm \ot a IriendJ am
Ihe 3iar! Ch£ttaa from a Hmhot, sci-h, or
adveniura itory, where vai ^are me mam
character . Each story is persoraaiiied
iwitti lacts Srom your kte. In maae each |
5K>ry unique. They maJke greSM girts! To
G*titfr. *rri0 id; Seeder® Publications.

16i t A S. Ma.rcse 4223, Vl^ia, CA SK 1 S 3
Sand S9.9S pAis $3 ter postage. Indicate
SCMi, horror, or acnreaUire, or order aU
tfiree te r o^i $.1 g.gj plus 54 ter pastege
Send IhE loitering Into about tha story's
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Signed hy author personally. Parental
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may not be Suitable to'children under 13 .

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DRAGON 101

/^rchandisep

GAMES I

■.iimm.A

l£>ar Countil

Delusions of Grandeur Welcome!

Finally, apply your ruthless cunning,
strategic ingenuity, and dominating wit
to a P.B.M. world that is truly deserving:

At your disposal...

-Masters Of War, Wizards, Agents,

-Build Castles, Control Cities, Manage Trade
-Choose from more than 100 spells!

-Struggle to deal with over 55 feisty creatures and
up to 25 other player kingdoms!

Personalize Your Kingdom...

-Decide your characters path of training
-Run your provinces as you see fit
-Integrate your own ideas with-oui unique
Free Response Optioning System—translating
your ideas into new game options!

SS Startup Includes: Rulcbook, Map, TurnsheetS,
Manual of the Colleges, Optioning Booklet, and free
A.D.E. membership. S5 turn fees. Write to:

~lf ^^^^Utemative 'Dimension ‘Enterprises

Beyond the Sea of Venom

In this exciting new play-by-mail game you
customize four characters to embark on a
fantastic journey. Send $5 for rules, map,
and the first three turns. Thereafter, turns
are $2.50 or $4.00.

We also have a discount catalogue of role-
playing games and accessories which costs
$2 and is refundable with your first order.

Jester Games and Hobbies

604 S. High St Kirksville, Mo 63501

** All your gaming **
needs at .

GAME MASTER LTD.

BERGEN MALL S/C
PARAMUS, NJ 07652

Gaming Convention
June 7-8, 1991 Looking
for DM’s for 1,000

Players * ^

(201) 843-3308

^nations

The Key To Three-Dimensional Gaming

25nu* Dungeons, Buildings, Castles
Modular - Durable - Full access
to interiors

Send 11 for catalog; refund
with purchase

PLAY BY MAIL GAMING

PAPER MAYHEM

The Informative PBM Magazine'

Subscribe to Paper Mayhem and discover the world
of play-by-mail (PBM) gaming. Wfe cover many of the
PBM games that are in this page, plus many more,
covering the subjects of fantasy, sci-fi, historical,
sports, etc. Each bimonthly issue brings you the latest
in PBM gaming.

Paper Mayhem has been publishing news about
PBM games and companies since 1983 and has im¬
proved to keep up with this ever expanding hobby.

Why delay and miss out on all the fun? Read Paper
Mayhem and take advantage of PBM gaming.

Send subscriptions to: Paper Mayhem (Dept DM)
1518 Adams Street
Ottawa, IL 61350-4664

Subscriptions:

Sample $4.50 I year $20.25 2 year $35.10

For more information
about play-by-mail games
and companies, send for The
4th Edition Journal of the
PBM Gamer, which is a list¬
ing of PBM Companies and
their games. Send $2.00 to
Paper Mayhem, Dept. DM,
1518 Adams St., Ottawa, IL
61350.

EsperAgentS EsperAgents

Psychic Espionage & Supernatural Investigation
It isl 999. You're part of an elite force ]
of psychic agents. Your mind is a super-;

naturalweapon. Youcanhearthethoughts ; MW

of enemy agents or burn out the minds of I Hjf
enemy leaders. Each nation has its own Kt ^ j'j*

mind-spies and it will take all your skill to ,)(/'/#

stay alive and complete your mission. m V I Wit

EsperAgents is a role-playing game I W \ 1 /

ofpsychicsuper-spiesinthenearfuture.lt I " Fvjkfr / /

includes complete, easy to learn rules, ex- F / /

tensive background, world history, cam- / ‘ ¥

palgn ideas and four adventures. Every- 1 Divine ton,

thing you need to play is here at a reason-

able price. The background and mechanics EsperAgents- $9 94

are compatible with Challengers (super- Challengers: S9.95
hero setting) and Cyberia (cyberpunk set- Cyberia: S9.95
ting) if you want even more adventure.

EsperAgemsawakenstheimagina I

tion and lets you play in a world which com- venture gams and accessones \
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horror and espionage into a unique world. POB140333, Austin, TX 78714

LETSPLAYGAMES

Introducing... Classical Fantasie Games!

Revolutionary new
Fantasy RPG systems,
for fast set-up and
ease of play. Modules
and source material
for the Palotin
Kingdoms; Features
over 200 never-before-
seen monsters, a
completely original |
magic system and
much more. PLUS
character portraits,
game playing aids and
other unique material
for the discriminating
player.

Send$1 for catalog to;

CLASSICAL FANTASIE
P.O.Box 931108 ' "* I

Hollywood, California 90093-1108_l

CAST YOUR OWN
FANTASY FIGURES

SPECIAL

Fantasy Starter Set
plus catalog only
$11.30 post paid.

(A Regular $19.35 Value)

special sale catalog or call
(409) 364-2020
THE DUNKEN CO.

P.O. Box 95
Calvert, TX 77837

102 DECEMBER 1990

($ mmrnMmm ., o. amis ^

IT’S CHRISTMAS

BUY YOURSELF A LOAD OF GAMES.

(Okay so it's been a bad year, the economy's shot and your mortgage is too high... What better time to relieve the gloom.
You owe it to yourself. And if you don't go to the shops listed below and pig out on buying all the games you want for
Christmas then you know what'll happen! You send your Mum girlfriend, wife or significant other® with a list and
you know what they'll do? They won't understand what you want and they'll get all the wrong stuff.® So if you want
a good Christmas... do it all yourself. Start early, 1991's a whole year away® so get out there and shop 'til your arms

e Great Old Ones * TT

emaster* MegalYavelierj
hampidns * Domination
& M • S tar Wars® * Painf
Is & Trolls * tlviag Stee

- r*** f .* s - Jyb'erSpace• Rockertfoy

e Night Fantastic • Eur orail s ^M iddle Earth Role Playing® • Prisoner
^reamlands • Twilfgfii^OQ^SsKger *GURPS • Espionage • Elfquest
it} SW Trek:The Role Playing Game • Blue Max • Star Warriors • Har
apemtn Romanum • TORG • EPT • Harnmaster • Bloody 110th
Edge On * Blue Max • SpaceMaster • Beyond The Supernal
inasTirith • Call of Cthulhu ^Edition • 2300 AD • Harpoor

NOW AVAILABLE
Probably the most comprehensive
GAMERS* PRICE LIST

IRunequesP^CarWars® in Euf °p®

” i ■. A , Available for 50p from shops listed below or direct from

* Cvoerpunl CHRIS HARVEY GAMES for 50p plus a large SAE.

et • Thievesliuild • Star Fleet Battj

feel

Patman RPG *^pow WoHd^MiltiCBMiMcBij^^^Last Battle • Talislantj

(I'd like to apologise for the grossly offensive advertisement that appears above. We at CHG realise that Christmas is a religious
holiday with significance for the whole family and not just an excuse for an over-commercialised binge. What can I say to you. I'm
a bad person. Merry Christmas.)

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Cardiff

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Chester

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Blackpool

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190-194 Station Road
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10 Market Square Arcade
Hanley, Stoke-On-Trent
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Cambridge

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4Broad Street
Wolverhampton
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ALSO Mail Order

Players, Unit 13

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9 Frankfurt Gate
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15 East Street Centre
Southampton

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The Stamp Corner

75 Netherhall Road
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Another World

23 Silver Street
Leicester

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98 Station Street
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Staffs

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91 Sl Dunstans Street
Canterbury

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5 The Quadrant,

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170/172 Chorley New
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294-6 High Street
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High Wycombe

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Paperbook Back Shop
(Fantasy & SF games only)
33North Road

Lancaster LAI INS
(0524)382181

The Gameskeeper

105 Cowley Road
Oxford

OX41HU
(0865)721348

Shrewsbury Model
Centre

15 Mardol Gardens
Shrewsbury, Shrops.
(0743)245539

Zoo Shop & Graphic
Books

14 Mains Loan

Dundee

Warlord Games Shop
818 London Road
Leigh-On-Sea

Southend SS9 3NH
(0702)73308

Mac’s Models

133-135 Canongate
Royal Mile

Edinburgh EH88BP
(031)557 5551

The Regiment

Baildon Craft Centre
Baildon

West Yorkshire
(0274) 594946

Outer Limits

4 The Broadway
Bedford

MK40 2TH
(0234) 58581

Phantastic Games

103A St. Johns Hill
Clapham Junction
London SW11 1SY
(071)738 0617

Fantasy Workshop

34 The Forum

Stevenage

Herts., SGI 1EH
(0438) 367736

5A Models

175 Edelston Road
Crewe

(0270)213537

Fiction Factory

Unit 17, W.Precinct Bus Sn
Hanley, Stoke-On-Trent
Staffs, ST1 1RJ fin. Mail
(0782)208484 ewer)

Phantastic Games

Unit 22 In-Shops, Indoor
Market, Waterlow Rd
Epsom, Surrey
(0372)726224

Spirit Games

Unit 19, In Shops Cntr.
68-74 Church Street
Croydon, Surrey
(081)7600078

TRADE ENQUIRIES ONLY

CHRIS HARVEY GAMES, PO Box 38, Bath Street, Walsall WS1 3BY
FAX: 0922 721644

DRAGON 103

Photography by Mike Bethke

Lead miniatures: a new endangered species

As I write this column at the end of
September, it is hard to project what will
have happened by the time you read this.
This year marks the appearance of a ma¬
jor threat to both the role-playing and
war-gaming hobbies. In the past, these
groups have watched each other take
lumps from church groups or from anti¬
militarists. It is time to put aside our dif¬
ferences and work to save the endangered
species that binds our groups together: the
lead-based miniature.

There are currently bills in both the U.S.
House and Senate that will, if passed,
destroy the lead-based miniatures indus¬
try. The bill in the House of Representa¬
tives is number HR5372. The bill before
the Senate is number S2637 and seeks to
amend the Toxic Substances Control Act.
Both the original Senate bill and this
amendment are meant to limit danger to
the environment by reducing the amounts
of lead available as pollutants. Pertinent
excerpts from the Senate bill follow:

Section 402, Subsection 9: "(a) General
Restrictions—Except as provided under
subsections (b), (c), and (d) of the section
[Note: These subsections refer to certain
alterations to the bill that the EPA Admin¬
istrator may apply after the bill is passed],
beginning on the date that is one year
after the date of enactment of the Lead
Exposure Reduction Act of 1990, no per¬
son may manufacture, possess or distrib¬
ute in commerce any of the following
product categories: . . . [ Category ] (9) Toy
and recreational game pieces containing
more than 0.1 percent of lead by dry
weight." According to an aide of Senator
Reid of Nevada, one of the bill's main
sponsors, there is an amendment to this
bill that would be added after "dry
weight." It will read: "Exceptions to this bill
will be collectable figures that shall be
used for display. There will be warning
labels attached to or printed on the pack¬
aging of these objects." I should emphasize
that this is the preliminary wording and

may not be the final form of the text that
appears in the bill.

Lead miniatures are made of a lead/ tin
alloy that is at least 60% lead. Several
alternate compounds may be used, but
few if any are desirable. Pewter is gener¬
ally triple the price of lead. Plastic has the
dual problems of permitting very limited
detail and requiring large amounts of oil
used to release the figures from the molds.
Zinc is even more toxic than lead and is
harder to work with. Epoxy or resin is
brittle and has difficulty holding detail, as
well as having the frequent problem of
bubbles in the casting. None of the alterna¬
tives are good ones.

What can you do to stop this? You can
let your senators and representatives
know that you don't feel that miniatures
are a frivolous use of a "toxic substance,"
and that you don't approve of the inclu¬
sion of Category #9 in the final Senate bill.
This can be done by signing a petition
against this inclusion. Be sure that you are
over 18 if you sign the petition, or you can
sign and have a parent co-sign in support
of you so the senators can see that parents
support the position of their children. You
can also write or call the congressmen
named later in this article. When you
write or call these senators or representa¬
tives, be polite and concise; do not ha¬
rangue or harass. These men look for
input and are willing to compromise, as
shown by their amendment. Last but not
least, contact others who may not know of
this bill so they can respond. These people
include local hobby shops, other gamers,
and diorama and model builders. Every¬
body has to get involved to make a
difference.

The Senate bill was produced by the
Committee on the Environment and Public
Works. Currently, sponsors of the bill
include Senators Reid of Nevada, Moyni-
han of New York, Lieberman of Connecti¬
cut, and Mikulski of Maryland.
Subcommittee members working on the

bill include Senator Reid (the author of the
bill and chairman of the subcommittee)
and Senators Balkus of Montana, Lieber¬
man, Jeffords of Vermont, and Warner of
Virginia. To reach the subcommittee, you
can call: (202) 244-6176; to reach individ¬
ual senators, call: (202) 244-3121 and ask
for the senator by name. Before calling, be
sure you know exactly what you want to
say and say it politely. Know the number
of the bill, and be prepared to answer any
questions the aides may have. House inqui¬
ries should be made to Rep. Thomas
Lugar.

My opinion in this matter is that Cate¬
gory #9 should be struck entirely from
Senate bill number S2637, and that any
reference to hobby material should be
removed from House bill number HR5372.
While the threat from lead poisoning to
the environment does exist, much more
serious threats exist from products such
as paint, old waste containers, pipes, and
even tire weights.

If we request that hobby materials be
exempt from these bills, a responsibility
rests with us. We must make sure that
none of the lead used in miniatures ever
gets into our nation's landfills or gets
buried where the lead can leech into the
soil. If you ever want to get rid of your
figures, they should be sold or given away
rather than tossed in the trash. Broken
figures should be fixed rather than dis¬
carded out of hand; if they cannot be
fixed, they should be turned over to a
local recycling center for disposal. Large
armies may be given to schools or local
clubs for use in displays, in teaching, or
for gaming by people who want to use the
figures correctly but can't afford them.

We can make a difference in our envi¬
ronment, but we shouldn't have other
people's ideas shoved down our collective
throats. Everyone needs to respond with
his own opinion; it is hoped that we will
prevail. If, by the time you read this. Cate¬
gory #9 has been withdrawn, please send

104 DECEMBER 1990

your thoughts in anyway so the senators
and representatives know that we do not
want this category added to any future
bills. If you have any questions, call me at:
(708) 336-0790; or write to: Ship & Soldier
Shop, 55 Maryland Ave., Annapolis MD
21401, U.S.A.

Without further ado, we slip into the
holiday spirit with some reviews of
products that are fun to give as well as to
receive.

Reviews

Miniatures’ product ratings

Poor

Below average

***

Average

****

Above average

*****

Excellent

Black Dragon Pewter

c/o Gallow Pewter Sculptures Corp.

166 N. Franklin St.

Hempstead NY 11550

#616-Witch

Last month, we presented two pieces of
pewter sculpture from Black Dragon Pew¬
ter. This month we review another of its
pewter miniatures that is not necessarily a
gaming piece. This piece was designed and
sculpted by Cindy Sudano and presents a
slightly different perspective on a common
theme: the witch.

This witch figure is done in 54-mm scale,
dressed in a long, flowing robe that
reaches from shoulders to ground. The
sleeves billow out and are wide and bell¬
like, having a well-defined gap for the
inner sleeve with arm and wrists visible.
The dress has a small V neck with a pen¬
dant visible. The dress spreads out in
pleated folds after being cinched by a
braided rope belt with frayed ends.

The figure also wears a long cape that
stretches from shoulders to feet. On the
back of the cape is a raised full moon with
a face that seems to change expressions.
The witch's hat is wide brimmed and has a
faceted glass jewel. The figure carries a
straw broom as if sweeping; on the top of
the handle is a faceted glass ball. Her hau¬
ls long and straight, and her face is that of
a young woman.

The figure that I received is fine in the
sculpturing department but seems to have
some production problems. The mouth of
the witch seems to vanish or develop a
cleft, depending on how you turn the
figure. A cat appears between her robes
and cape, but the head of the feline is an
unrecognizable blob with an unfilled neck.
There is some pitting and areas that obvi¬
ously didn't fill; there is also a lack of
detail on the witch's hands.

I called Black Dragon and talked to

Cindy Sudano, who stated that they had
just started using new molds, and I had
probably received a figure made with the
old mold. Just before press time, I re¬
ceived a new figure that was molded
much better and was well worth its $16
price tag.

Geo-Hex

609 N.E. Schuyler St., Unit #1
Portland OR 97212

GSFF series —Farmfields

Last month we dealt with the advantages
of using Geo-Hex's Forest Floors (GSFL
series) in miniatures games instead of
trying to move miniature troops between
standing model trees. This month we
cover yet more ground from Geo-Hex,
which has introduced the next in its series
of terrain reproductions, Farmfields.

These simulate the rough grain fields seen
in modern or historical country settings or
on agricultural planets in SF settings.

Rough terrain can impede the movement
of troops in miniatures games by as much
as 50% (depending on the rules used),
allowing defenders to gain more shots
against slow attackers.

Geo-Hex Farmfields are printed on the
rough side of feltlike material. This felt
acts like Velcro when used with Geo-Hex
and it grabs most other types of terrain.
The crop rows are set down on the mats
in different directions, so there is no
smooth way through them except for the
paths that border the fields and wander
throughout. The rows of crops are also
flocked so they give a plantlike feel when
you rub your hand across a mat. The
usable part of each mat is 12" x KM",
unless you wish to use the outer section as
a farm boundary. These fields also come in
a version that has gray hexes superim¬
posed so the mat can be used for games
like FASA's BATTLETECH® game, though
these mats have more value for historical
or individual figure fights. The BATTLE¬
TECH game has few modifiers for rough
terrain unless you're using tracked vehi¬
cles or infantry.

If you plan to pick these up for BATTLE¬
TECH games as anything other than extra
scenery, these are not a good buy. If you
play different time periods and different
games, these mats are still expensive at
$5.95 each ($6.95 each for the hex-printed
Battlescape format) but can lead to some
interesting variations in your game.

Thunderbolt Mountain
Miniatures

P.O. Box 37024
Cincinnati OH 45222-0024

Thunderbolt Mountain
Miniatures

70 Harcourt St.

Newark, Nottingham
UNITED KINGDOM NG 241 RF

1002 —Sorceress at Sea ****i/ 2

1004 — Anti-Paladin

Thunderbolt Mountain continues its
ambitious plan of new releases with three
pieces for December, two of which are
featured this month. Both are in 54-mm
scale and are made of lead. Neither are
standard gaming pieces unless you use
them as giants, but they would not fit any
standard giant profile. They are, however,
perfect for the expert painter or diorama
builder.

"Sorceress at Sea" is a piece directed at
the serious adult collector. The miniature
comes in four separate parts. The base is a
1 3/8" circle that consists of a sea-floor rock
pile with part of a serpentine body
wrapped around it. The surface of the
base is covered with a variety of detailing
castings such as plants, a starfish, shell¬
fish, and an open oyster with a pearl. Part
two is the rear third of a sea serpent with
large feathery fins. When you assemble
this piece, note that the tail can fit to the
base in two different ways and still look
right; the tail should face forward with the
fins up. Part three is the front third of the
serpent, which should be attached to the
base so that the serpent twists up and
faces back toward its tail. The serpent's
head reminds me of an aquatic dinosaur
The sea sorceress is part number four, a
one-piece casting. Her hair is just longer

DRAGON 105

Jabba’s Place (West End Games)

studded cheek guard and large ram's
horns. His eyes stare out malevolently,
blending with the sneer on his face. The
upper torso is covered by a breastplate,
and his shoulders and abdomen are cov¬
ered by overlapping plates with shoulder
guards that protect the neck. His loins are
covered by plates and chain mail that
extend to mid-thigh. His boots are also
made of flexible plates.

The anti-paladin's arms are bare except
for large bracers, and his legs are bare
from mid-thigh to the tops of his boots.
Veins and muscle detail are good and
clearly visible. The price is right at $8.50.

I suggest that you trial assemble these
miniatures before applying any glue. I
cracked the left leg of my anti-paladin
figure by attempting to bend the leg so its
peg would fit into the hole in the base (I
applied just a bit too much force).

I also advise painting both of these fig¬
ures before assembly. They are designed
so that you can get an excellent job with¬
out having to worry about overlapping
pieces. I highly recommend both of these
figures as gifts or special displays. As a
parting note, please enclose $1.50 in the
U.S.A. for shipping and handling; Ohio
residents should include 5.5% sales tax.

West End Games Inc.

251 West 30th St.

New York NY 10001

WEG 40310 —Jabba's Place ****
In West End Games' STAR WARS®: the
RPG, one of the best-known villains is
Jabba the Hutt. This STAR WARS set, sub¬
mitted for review, consists of seven hu¬
manoid figures and one very large Jabba
the Hutt. The figures were produced for
West End by Grenadier Models and are in
25-mm scale. They are made of a slightly
harder lead than usual and are thus a little
more brittle than other lead figures. These
figures are not made to be altered, so be

careful not to break the figures in
handling.

Figure #1 is a Twi'lek, a humanoid race
with flexible tail-like appendages coming
out the back of his head. The figure has
muscle bands on the appendages. He is
dressed in overlapping robes with an
inscribed and decorated breast plate. The
face is puffy, with ridges over the eyes and
a double chin. No bare skin is visible ex¬
cept for the face and hands.

Figure #2, the Quarren, is also totally
robed except for his hands and head.

There is no ornamentation on his robe
except for a woven belt. The left hand of
the figure holds a blaster pistol and his
right hand is positioned as if warding
someone away. The facial features include
tentacles and a triangular skull. My figure
had flash between the arm and cape, with
light flash around the head.

The Nikto figure wears a cloth cap with
a rear veil, padded armor jacket, pants,
and gloves. The figure is in an alert posi¬
tion with a pole arm in his left hand and a
leather belt with a sword in scabbard
around his waist. Laced boots come up to
his knees. The face has overlapping folds
of flesh with slitted eyes and floppy trian¬
gular ears. The body has good detail, but
this might be obstructed by heavy paint.
The facial detail is also good but not as
deep as it could be.

The Lando figure is wearing smooth
armor with a decorative breast plate. He is
completely covered by armor or clothes,
except for his eyes and the middle of his
face. His helmet covers his head down to
the neck and has a brim. His back has a
ribbed vest with criss-crossed belts. His
weapon is an electronic pole axe held at
the port arms position. There are mold
lines on the leg.

The Oola figure is an exotic dancer with
no military hardware. She wears gauzelike
clothing with straps on thigh and knee.
Tight clothes cover her upper body and
legs; her back is bare. She is a Twi'lek, so

Anti-Paladin (Thunderbolt Mountain)

than shoulder length and flows to her left
as if being blown by a strong wind. Her
face has a stem, determined look, with
high cheekbones, large eyes, and a partly
opened mouth. Her left arm and hand
stretch out almost straight from her shoul¬
der; her right arm is down with palm
facing up. The rest of her body is bare
except for a loincloth-type arrangement,
secured at her waist by a chain belt and
being blown to her left in the same way as
her hair. The figure's proportions are
good, neither over- or underdone. The left
leg is bent slightly as if mounting a step;
both feet are on the rock formation. The
only problem with this miniature is the
slight filling needed at the base and an
alignment problem with the serpent head
and base body. The figure is worth its
$9.50 price tag.

Figure #1004, "Anti-Paladin," comes in
three pieces. The base, part one, is a sim¬
ple rectangle measuring 60 mm x 38 mm,
a flat surface made to resemble a stone
floor with most of a six-pointed star show¬
ing. In the center of the star is a covered
brazier or pedestal. Part two consists of
the anti-paladin's hands clenching a two-
handed sword at the handle and blade.

The sword is plain with oversized guards.
This piece gave me a problem, as the arms
to which the hands attach are slightly too
far apart. Carefully figure out where the
arms need to be, then slowly and gently
bend the arms to their proper positions.

The body, part three, is by far the most
interesting and is also a study in contrasts.
The figure is wearing a full helmet with

106 DECEMBER 1990

she has head appendages. There was a little
flash on this figure and some mold lines.

The Ephant Mon has a broad, flat face
with tusks and a domed skull. The entire
body is covered with a coarse, large-curled
fur from shoulders to cloven hooves. The
figure carries two blades strapped to his
left side that, according to the sheet, are a
vibroblade and a normal sword. There
was some flash between the legs, but no
other problems.

The Gammorean figure is broad com¬
pared to the other humanoid figures. The
figure has bare skin from shoulder to
glove and from below his groin to the
sandals on his feet. His hands are covered
by gauntlets. The rest of the body is cov¬
ered by a jerkin with a leather belt. He
wears a soft protective hat, and his face is
broad, flat and shovel jawed, with teeth or
tusks showing and a baleful glare on his
face. He holds a vibroaxe over his head as
if getting ready to swing down. There was
flash along the axe handle, along with a
raised mold line; mold lines appear along
both sides of the figure. This one needs to
be cleaned up.

Last, but not least, is Jabba. He reclines
on a raised stone platform 60 mm x 26 mm.
The platform has lines dividing it into
blocks; sculptured stone heads with serpen¬
tine features extend out from three sides.
From the top of the platform extends an
armrest. Several throw pillows are present;
Jabba's parasite/companion, Salacious
Crumb, rests against his master's bulk.

Jabba the Hutt measures just over 68
mm long from tip of tail to useless left
arm. His reptilian eyes are fairly well
detailed but shallow. His mouth is smaller
than suggested by Galaxy Guide #4 from
West End, but the flaps and folds of blub¬
ber are fairly right if a bit shallow. His
arms are the right proportion as per the
book and pictures, and his hands are
folded together. The only problems with
this figure are that it is too small com¬
pared with other figures, and the base
needs work to make it presentable.

This set has additional play value. Only
one figure has an obviously modern
weapon, which allows you to use all the
figures, including Jabba, as a chaos-type
fantasy-races camp or with some stat
modifications, as an off-race camp in
AD&D® games. Collectors will have to
work to get this set to collector status, but
the price of $12 is worth it.

GHQ

2634 Bryant Ave. South
Minneapolis MN 55408

#211 —H.M.S. Victory
(100 Gun) * * * * 1/2

During the mid-18th century, Britain had
not yet earned the title "Queen of the
Seas." Instead, she was involved in an ever-
widening series of clashes with both Spain
and France as each side fought for control
of the seas and for the safety of their

H.M.S. Victory (GHQ)

nations and their colonies. Total victory
would allow the victorious nation to bring
her cargo from the outlying ports with
fears only of natural disasters or pirates.
The wealth from cargo helped pay for
further exploration and more military
forces. Much of this wealth also went to
building floating fortresses with as many
as 130 main guns and three or more
decks.

The most famous of these British three-
deckers was the subject for this miniature,
the H.M.S. Victory. The Victory was built in
1765 and updated three times in her lifes¬
pan to keep up with advances made. By
today's standards she was small, at only
226' in length and a beam of just short of
52', but packed into this ship were 102
guns ranging from two 68-pound car-
ronades down to 12 pounders on the deck
(Note: "Pound" refers to weight of shot that
cannon could handle. It set the standard for
British gun size in World War II). It was in

this form that the Victory served as Admi¬
ral Nelson's flagship at Trafalgar in 1805.

GHQ's miniature of the Victory is a
multipiece kit. It consists of a highly de¬
tailed stern quarter that includes scrolling
windows, window panes, and molded-on
rear railings. The body of the ship has
three rows of gun ports with support belts
separating them. Stepladders for boarding
are faithfully engraved, as are most chan¬
nels, railings, and deck gratings. Four
cannons are visible on the deck. The bow
even includes the figurehead, recognizable
under a magnifying glass as a lion.

Included in the sails and mast group are
a mainmast, a foremast and mizzenmast
molded with sails billowing, and furled
lower sails. The spanker is separate but
only needs two drops of glue to be at¬
tached to the mizenmast. The bowsprit is
a separate piece—but it is also the source
of one of the few faults in this model. The
bowsprit is not molded as per the illustra-

the Gamekeeper

a good gam*?* shop

to* CowJsy Hoad

OxTcrd

OKI I Hlf

Hrp.lAftd.

E-i

i—i

DRAGON 107

Blue Ardua (Lance & Laser)
tion. You must build the trailer and cross¬
spar it yourself. The brace may be made
by taking one of the number tags on the
sails and cutting it in half lengthwise. Glue
this plate on the end of the bowsprit,
joining the boat and the number side
towards the bow; glue it so the short side
is parallel to the water. Then take a piece
of thin, solid core wire. Strip the insula¬
tion from the wire and cut the wire into
three pieces, one 5/16", one 5/8", and one
3/8" long. The short piece is glued to the
front of the plate, pointing towards the
water; the second piece forms a spar
about halfway down the first half of the
bowsprit; the third piece is placed halfway
up the end of the second half of the bow¬
sprit. Don't be afraid to leave a small glue
bubble on the spot where the spars join
the bowsprit. Painted, these blobs look like
hardware.

With the anchors and detailed lifeboats
that include oars, this is an impressive
miniature. Fully 3Vi" end to end, it is a
good model for either dioramas or use
with Avalon Hills WOODEN SHIPS & IRON
MEN™ or FGU's PRIVATEERS & GENTLE-
MEN™ games. With a little work and by
following the enclosed rigging instruc¬
tions, this ship will be worth far more
than its $7.50 price tag.

Lance & Laser

P.O. Box 14491
Columbus OH 43124

TALISLANTA T-004-
Blue Ardua ****i/ 2

Recently I was given several packs of
TALISLANTA figures by Lance & Laser for
review. I was just a little lost as all I knew
for certain about the TALISLANTA game
was that it didn't have any elves in it (see,
people do read ads) and it was made by
Bard Games. I searched my store inven¬

tory and came up with the Chronicles of
Talislanta for background information.

The figure pack submitted for review
contains two Blue Ardua. The Chronicles
defines the Ardua as a species of former
avians in the process of devolving into a
race of land dwellers. There are two spe¬
cies: the smaller Green Ardua, and the
larger Blue Ardua. These Blue Ardua
figures measure 32 mm from feet to eyes,
so they are either very tall or out of scale,
with very tall being more probable. Both
figures have thin, bony arms joined to the
wings that extend from the wrist to the
waist. Both have thin, protruding chests
and muscular legs. Their heads have fea¬
tures that look like a combination of mon¬
key and bird, with beak and all. Each
figure has a crest that stretches back from
where human ears would be.

Figure one stands with his arms raised
straight over his head and his wings fully
extended. In his hands he grasps a strange
pole-type weapon with crescent-shaped
blades at each end. These blades are
lashed to the pole with rope or vines, and
the central part of the pole is wrapped
with the same material. The figure wears
a cape that is draped from his shoulders
and is secured by a ring clasp anchored to
his breast plate. The breast plate is a skull
of some sort held by a leather strap that
joins to his belt, then drops over a pair of
shorts held up by a chain belt. He wears
smooth pullover boots that leave his claws
exposed.

Figure two has the same skull and
clothes, but these are not quite as fancy.
Attached to his belt is a water jug and a
quiver with several arrows. Unlike the
other figure, this figure has heavy-duty
laced boots with fringes. This figure also
has a small loaded crossbow in his right
hand. His left arm reaches almost straight
out from his body, and in his left hand he
clutches a crescent-shaped two-edged

blade. His mouth is open; you can almost
hear a screech of defiance.

Both of these figures are made of a very
soft lead. One bent when I dropped it, but
the figure did not break when I bent it
back into shape. There was very little flash,
and the mold line was well hidden. Even
the wing feathers were good. This package
also has the extra benefit that it could be
used as bird people in AD&D games, mak¬
ing a nasty surprise for your party. They
are worth their $2.70 price tag.

Ral Partha Enterprises, Inc.

5938 Carthage Court
Cincinnati OH 45212

11-414-Chimera ****i/ 2

11-410—Firbolg

The chimera is an all-around bad apple
in an AD&D game setting. Its dragon, lion,
and goat heads make it a formidable oppo¬
nent on land, while its large dragon's
wings allow it to "drop in" on a party. This
is one of those creatures whose appear¬
ances are best kept rare.

This chimera miniature from Ral Partha
comes as five separate pieces. Its wingspan
is just over 95 mm tip-to-tip, though the
dragonlike wings are not fully extended.
The wings have obvious and well-done
vein, bone, and muscle structures.

The main body comes on a rectangular
stand with molded details of plants and
ground. The chimera's back half is that of
a goat, complete with cloven hooves and
short, wiry hair. The front half is of a
snarling lion with teeth exposed. The lion's
mane is layered in rows, the fur standing
almost straight up. The monster's front
right paw is taking a swipe at something,
and the left is hovering over a plant. The
wings jut forth from the back through the
rear of the mane.

Also coming out from the mane are the
heads of a goat and a dragon. The horns
of the goat go straight back across the
head, with the ears parallel to the horns.
The goat's beard is bristled, and a hateful
look is on its face. The dragon's head is
turned forward; its scales are well molded
with large belly scales and ridged spine.

The pieces needed some filing to fit
correctly and to eliminate the few gaps
that appear. You need to do some careful
fitting, but the figure is well worth the $6
price tag when you are finished.

The AD&D Monstrous Compendium
defines the firbolg as being the most pow¬
erful of the giant-kin due to its natural
intelligence and considerable magical
ability. Firbolg are over 10' tall and weigh
over 800 lbs. They have a clan society and
operate in hunting groups.

The firbolg comes in a single-figure
package. The figure has substantial weight
(I know it's made out of lead) and size: 52
mm from base to top of head. This com¬
pares to about 28 mm for a normal fighter,
so the figure is just short of 12' tall in
scale. His shoulders measure about 22 mm

108 DECEMBER 1990

Chimera (Ral Partha)

Firbolg (Ral Partha)

across, about 5 x h' in scale. The figure is
posed with his legs spread slightly, his left
arm bent with left thumb hooked into his
belt, and his right hand holding a 56-mm
sword point down in the ground. The
sword is double edged and two handed
(for the giant), with a leather-wrapped
handle. The firbolg's face almost resembles
that of Santa Claus, with a well-trimmed
beard and mustache (though the firbolg
figure has very little forehead and has
brows that stretch out almost level with
the crook of his Roman-looking nose). The
muscle detail on his arms and legs is excel¬
lent and comes close to matching the
illustration in the Monstrous Compen¬
dium. His body is covered by an animal
hide that covers from mid-thigh to his
right shoulder, leaving the left side of his
hairy chest exposed. A studded or jewelled
girdle is worn in place of a belt. His feet
and shins are covered by fur boots se-

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cured by leather straps.

There was no flash on this entire model
except for a small piece on the tip of the
sword pommel. It is a model that I would
highly recommend to anyone doing hill or
mountain campaigns. The only thing I
could say to Ral Partha is that it needs a

female firbolg figure for a family or clan
meet. The figure is well worth $6.

Storypaths

White Wolf

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One of the most innovative
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DRAGON 109

Buck Rogers— intrude!*—

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1991

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